Regular follow up with your health care team is an important part of managing your heart failure.
- Keep all scheduled appointments with your health care providers. Frequent contact with your doctor or nurse will increase your chances of staying on track with your treatment plan.
- If you have questions about your condition, write them down and bring them with you to your appointments.
- If you have urgent questions, call your health care provider.
- If you see any other doctor, notify him or her about your heart failure medications, diet or fluid modifications. Keep your list of medications (names, dosages and times taken) and allergies in your wallet or purse to answer questions that the doctor or nurse may ask you.
- It is very important to manage other conditions such as diabetes or high blood pressure. Keeping these conditions under control will help you to manage your heart failure.
- Call your heart failure doctor or nurse if you are prescribed medications or over-the-counter drugs or supplements by another doctor. Sometimes, a medication for one medical problem may interfere with the action of a heart failure medicine.
- Make sure you know how to treat yourself if you have a virus, the flu or a fever. Remember, do not take any over-the-counter drugs or supplements unless you ask your doctor or nurse first.
- Talk to your doctor or nurse if you are having sexual problems or feel depressed.
- Know your ejection fraction (EF). This number indicates how well your heart pumps (the amount of blood pumped) with each heart beat. A normal EF is generally greater than 50 percent, which means that over half of the blood entering your heart is pumped out of the heart with each beat.
- Talk to your doctor or nurse about getting the flu shot every year and a pneumonia vaccine every five years so you can stay healthy.
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This information is provided by the Cleveland Clinic and is not intended to replace the medical advice of your doctor or health care provider. Please consult your health care provider for advice about a specific medical condition. This document was last reviewed on: 3/20/2006...#12886
