Like Ms. Ha, many people feel extremely bewildered because the condition of a loved one with heart failure seems to be getting worse even when taking medicine and paying attention to eating and drinking. In fact, the care of heart failure patients at each stage has different notes, but not everyone can learn in detail and fully.

In addition to medicine and nutrition, you also need to pay attention to physical exercise, reduce mental stress and especially know how to reduce symptoms when the disease worsens. Although it is a arduous final stage of cardiovascular disease, the pressure of caring for patients with heart failure will not be too heavy if you can apply a combination of the following 5 tips.

1. Note the use of drugs when taking care of patients with heart failure

When caring for a patient with heart failure, you need to remind the patient to take their medication on time and at the same time every day. To do this, you should ask the treating doctor how to use the prescribed medications for your loved one.

Please read the prescription carefully, the instructions for taking each drug listed on the prescription to know how to use the medicine. You can take a small piece of paper, write down information about the drug such as effects, how to use it ... and stick it on the package of that drug to make sure you don't forget it.

During the care of patients with heart failure, you should note the following when using the drug:

• Don't let your loved one drink alcohol: Because alcohol is the main cause of increased side effects of some medications.

• Timely detect your loved one's side effects: You need to immediately notify the doctor if your loved one encounters dangerous side effects of the medication, such as palpitations, nervousness, severe thirst, urination. confusion, blurred vision, hallucinations, mood swings, severe arrhythmia, etc.

2. Caring for patients with heart failure with diet and exercise

Diet and exercise are the conditions you need to maintain regularly when caring for patients with heart failure. If done incorrectly, this will make the condition of a loved one more serious.

Diet when caring for patients with heart failure

When caring for patients with heart failure, you should cook foods that are easy to digest, choose clean foods and fresh vegetables. In particular, you need to avoid letting your loved ones eat too much, limit grease, fat as well as processed and prepackaged foods...

In addition, you need to pay attention to remind your loved ones to reduce water intake and reduce salt (no more than 2g/day) to avoid swelling. Do not forget to supplement your loved one's meals with potassium-rich foods such as bananas, oranges, tomatoes, asparagus, yogurt, soybeans, fish, green leafy vegetables...

Exercise regimen, care for patients with heart failure

During an exacerbation of heart failure, let your loved one rest in bed and avoid strenuous activities. You can massage your loved ones' limbs to reduce the risk of blood clots due to circulatory stagnation.

Once the dangerous exacerbation has passed, you should encourage your loved one to exercise gently and often to avoid sitting in one place and making the illness worse. You can find time to walk with loved ones around the house, this exercise will help develop the collateral circulation and new blood vessel system, which reduces the risk of heart attack.

Palliative care for patients with heart failure

Care measures to mitigate the negative effects of heart failure

When caring for patients with heart failure in more advanced stages, you must be even more aware of the complications of heart failure and how to mitigate the negative effects.

Place the patient in a comfortable semi-recumbent position.

Arrange a well-ventilated rest room.

Monitor urine color and give the patient a moderate amount of water to drink when the urine is dark yellow. When there is a lot of edema, the amount of water you drink will be equal to the amount of urine excreted and add 300ml.

How to recognize signs of worsening heart failure for timely emergency

When caring for patients with heart failure, you should carefully remember the signs of worsening heart failure so that you can recognize it early and treat it promptly.

Here are some possible life-threatening signs for a loved one that you need to go to the emergency room when symptoms persist for more than 15 minutes:

• Heart attack: Patients often experience this paroxysmal dyspnea at night, with signs such as shallow breathing, rapid breathing, shortness of breath, chest pain, increased blood pressure and increased heart rate.

• Cardiac pulmonary edema: The patient feels short of breath, has to sit up to breathe, breathing is very difficult with sweating, cold limbs, fast heart rate, worried and panicky face.

• Myocardial infarction: The patient feels pain as if the heart is being squeezed and heavy, accompanied by difficulty breathing. In addition, the person may experience pain in the neck, shoulders, jaw, and arms; Shortness of breath, dizziness, indigestion, sweating (especially in the head area), nervousness, panic...

4. How to reduce stress when caring for patients with heart failure

When taking care of patients with heart failure, if you worry about one part, your loved one is obsessed with 10 parts by the question: "Is heart failure dangerous?". Negative thoughts about death as well as the prospect of being bedridden at the end of life can cause a loved one's psychological distress to become increasingly depressed, leading to stress that makes the illness worse.

To help your loved one overcome their fears and think more positively, you can try the following:

• Have a pleasant conversation and ask often: Patients will easily fall into feelings of loneliness and negative thoughts whenever they are alone. Therefore, you should chat and ask often. Choose fun topics and avoid disturbing your loved ones.

• Create conditions for your loved one to do what you like: You should learn about your loved one's hobbies such as listening to music, reading books, arranging flowers, playing chess, planting trees... Then you can arrange to buy tools, gifts or even signing up for a loved one to join a club of similar interests.

• Encourage your loved one to do gentle exercise: Depending on your loved one's condition and your doctor's advice, you can encourage walking, meditation, etc. to both help maintain physical activity and relax your mind.

• Care about the sleep of loved ones: A deep sleep is a natural stress reliever, but it is very difficult for patients with heart failure. You should prepare a well-ventilated bedroom, remind your loved ones to sleep on time and avoid eating too much before going to bed.