Treatment of heart failure

Acute and chronic type of heart failure is one of the first causes of death in the world from cardiovascular diseases. Due to the high prevalence of this type of pathology, the problem of treating these two conditions is very serious. What is the treatment of general heart failure, what role does the doctor play in it, and what can the patient do for himself? How great are the chances of survival of patients with heart failure? This will be discussed below.

Faced with this problem( acute or chronic), it is important to understand that this condition in itself is not a disease in the ordinary sense of the word. This is only a combination of symptoms and clinical signs that indicate a violation of the heart, developed against the background of a disease( or several diseases).Remember: heart failure is always a consequence of other diseases.

The main directions of treatment

Treatment of any of the types of heart failure, as well as the disease that provoked it, is a complicated and time consuming process. The main objectives of the treatment are:

• elimination of the symptoms of the disease( the so-called "symptomatic treatment");
• protection of organs most affected by cardiac dysfunction( brain, kidney, vessels);
• improving the quality of life of the patient and prolonging his life.

Achieving all these goals is possible with the help of different methods of treatment. But it is necessary to conduct it under the supervision of a doctor observing the patient.

How to start treatment

Usually, chronic or acute heart failure begins with the elimination of all risk factors. To achieve a good and lasting result, it is important that the patient completely abandoned smoking and alcohol, clearly followed the doctor's instructions in the treatment of arterial hypertension and other diseases of the affected cardiovascular system. The patient must take urgent measures to reduce body weight, since most patients are obese. It is important to reduce salt intake to a minimum, maintain a diet with a lower content of animal fats and cholesterol, and diversify life with physical activity.

The role of physical exercise in heart failure

Contrary to the false general belief that with heart failure the patient needs to be protected as much as possible from physical exertion, modern medicine has a number of facts proving the opposite. Balanced and moderate physical activity improves the general condition of patients with heart failure, and also slows the development of this disease. In turn, a complete rejection of activity leads to a sharp decrease in the physical potential of a person and makes him an invalid.

Physical efforts in heart failure are contraindicated only if there are clear signs of worsening of the disease - for example, swelling. Especially useful for heart failure are walking, special breathing exercises, and also ordinary swimming. But it is important that physical activities do not fatigue the patient. If after the load the patient complains of severe weakness and fatigue, this means that the level of loads should be lowered.

Therapeutic diet for heart failure

Restriction of consumption of foods with cholesterol and dangerous animal fats;

Decrease in total calorie content of food( up to 2000-2500 kcal) and complete rejection of products with easily digestible carbohydrates( various sweets, flour products, fruits, honey);

Restriction of daily salt intake( up to 5-6 gr.).And, here already comes the salt contained in ready-made dishes and products;

Limited consumption of liquid up to 1.5 liters. Per day, including liquid dishes, juices, tea, etc. Stricter restrictions in the consumption of liquid can only exacerbate the general condition of the patient, because they are not recommended;

Eating foods fortified with potassium. This is dried apricots, raisins, bananas, potatoes, oatmeal, peaches, buckwheat porridge.

Use of foods high in fatty polyunsaturated acids - vegetable oil, olives, fatty fish.