Understanding your illness and treatment can help you feel more in control. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Dealing with heart disease involves doctors, nurses, social workers and other specially trained healthcare professionals. You will receive lots of new and complex information and need to make many serious decisions. So it is important to be able to communicate clearly with your entire healthcare team….
Heart failure stops the heart from pumping blood as it should, it doesn’t mean that your heart has stopped beating. The heart keeps working, but the body’s need for blood and oxygen isn’t being met. If you or a loved one are suffering from cardiac disease, Heart ‘n Home can help. Heart ‘n Home’s Cardiac Program meets the specialized needs of end-of-life cardiac patients. We can help with:
- Increasing patient/caregiver ability to manage illness at home.
- Increasing the confidence of patient/caregiver to manage symptoms.
- Specific Cardiac Plan of Care that monitors and manages symptoms and reduced episodes of crisis.
- Reducing emergency room and hospital visits.
Signs of Heart Failure
- Shortness of breath, especially when lying down.
- Feeling tired and run-down.
- Swelling in feet, ankles, legs, and abdomen.
- Angina (pain or discomfort in the chest).
- Weight gain from fluid buildup.
- Confusion or unable to think clearly.
Causes of Heart Failure
- Clogged arteries don’t let enough blood flow to the heart.
- Past heart attack has done damage to the heart muscle.
- Heart defects present since birth.
- High blood pressure.
- Heart valve disease.
- Diseases of the heart muscle.
- Infection of the heart and/or heart valves.
Next article: High Blood Pressure and Those Who Are At Higher Risk.
(Adapted from the American Heart Association)
If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!
Back to Home
Free Resources
Visit our friends!
A few highly recommended friends...
One Response to Congestive Heart Failure: Hospice Can Help Alleviate and Control Symptoms
The more that people become educated about the benefits of hospice, the more it will grow. It is National Hospice Month, and I thought that it would be a great opportunity to debunk five myths about hospice care, an aspect of health care that is always on the radar of a geriatric care manager.