LIVING BETTER WITH HEART FAILURE starts with talking about your symptoms
THE KEY TO LIVING BETTER WITH HEART FAILURE is talking openly with your doctor When you have heart failure, honest communication with your doctor is essential. It helps you better understand your condition, treatment options and how heart failure affects your daily life.
This booklet will show you how to get the most out of each doctor s appointment, so you can take an active role in your health.
KNOW THE 9 MAIN SIGNS OF HEART FAILURE Heart failure is a chronic condition, but early diagnosis, lifestyle changes and appropriate drug treatments can help you lead a normal and active life, stay out of hospital and live longer. It s important to know the symptoms, and to keep an eye on them. 1. Shortness of breath Heart failure can cause fluids in your body to collect in your lungs, so you feel short of breath during daily activities. 2. Shortness of breath when lying down Lying flat may also make you feel short of breath, so that you need to sleep sitting up or with several pillows. 3. Fatigue and weakness Because there is less oxygen in the blood with heart failure, your muscles and tissues lack energy. This can make you feel tired very easily. 4. Swelling in the ankles, legs, abdomen or base of spine As fluid in the body builds up in these areas, clothes or shoes may feel uncomfortable and tighter. 5. Sudden weight increase Worsening heart failure may cause a weight gain of over 2.5 kg (about 5 lbs) in one week due to fluid build-up. To learn more about heart failure and how to check
6. Loss or change of appetite A build-up of fluid around the belly can interfere with digestion and cause a loss of appetite or nausea when eating. 7. Increased urination at night When you lie down in bed at night, the fluid that has built up in your legs during the day can move back into your bloodstream and is taken to your kidneys to be eliminated as waste urine. 8. Cough that lasts longer than a week This is your body s natural response to trying to clear the fluids that potentially accumulated in your lungs due to heart failure. 9. Unable to do activities you used to do The signs of heart failure can make your normal activities difficult or even impossible; this can be a good indicator that you should talk to your doctor. and manage your symptoms, visit MyHeartFailure.ca
WHAT TO DO BEFORE YOUR APPOINTMENT Your appointment is your chance to openly discuss how heart failure affects your daily life and to work with your doctor on ways to best manage it. Here s how to make the most of every visit. Check It s really important to check your symptoms. They re a key indicator of your condition and your doctor needs to know about them. It also helps to talk about your symptoms with your family, friends or caregiver, as they may have noticed changes you missed. Consider It s important that all doctors you may be seeing consider your history, so they know which medicines and medical tests you re taking. Make a list of all of your medications and their doses (including non-prescription) and bring the list to your appointment. Coordinate Ask a family member or your caregiver to accompany you, so they too can stay informed about your condition, if you think this would be helpful. Writing down your questions will ensure you raise any concerns and gain a deeper understanding of how you can better manage your heart failure. Download the Talking to Your Doctor guide at MyHeartFailure.ca/talk-to-your-doctor To learn more about heart failure and how to check
WHAT TO DO DURING YOUR APPOINTMENT Admit Be open about how you re feeling and try to be specific about any changes in your symptoms. Give examples of how heart failure affects your daily life, such as: - I have trouble sleeping sometimes. - It s hard to get out of bed some mornings. - It s hard to put on some of my shoes. - I m just so tired all the time. - It s difficult to talk to my family about how I m feeling. - There are times I forget to take my medications. Ask Ask the questions you prepared and be sure to write your doctor s answers down. Also make a note of anything that you don t understand. Act Set up a specific action plan with your doctor on how to best look after yourself until your next appointment. When I walk more than 10 minutes, I m short of breath and my legs feel like jelly. and manage your symptoms, visit MyHeartFailure.ca
8 GOOD QUESTIONS YOU CAN ASK YOUR DOCTOR Your appointments are the perfect opportunity to gain a better understanding of your heart failure. Here are some helpful questions you can ask. Of course, you may have questions specifically related to you. Remember, there are no silly questions when it comes to your health! 1. What can I do now to help improve my condition? 2. How severe is my heart failure? 3. What s the main cause of my heart failure? 4. What can I expect with my heart failure over the months and years? 5. How do you think my heart failure will affect my daily activities? 6. Are there certain health checks I can do at home to monitor my heart failure? 7. What are the possible side effects of my medicines? 8. If my other conditions affect my heart failure, what can I do? Now I realize how important it is to change some things that I do and the way that I live. To learn more about heart failure and how to check
AFTER YOUR APPOINTMENT Reflect Review your notes and answers to your questions. This will remind you of any next steps you have to take. Review Update your family, friends or caregiver about your appointment. Doing so makes sure they re better able to support you with your next steps. Remember Take a few moments after your appointment to jot down any reminders or points to discuss at your next visit. HEART FAILURE IS A CHRONIC CONDITION. So keep on going to your doctor! Talking about your symptoms with your doctor, especially if there s been a change, can help make a big difference in the way you live and feel. Ask your doctor how new heart failure medicines can help in the management of your heart failure. and manage your symptoms, visit MyHeartFailure.ca
YOUR NEXT APPOINTMENT Be ready at your next appointment with the following information: Appointment Date List of Medications To learn more about heart failure and how to check
List of Symptoms Appointment Notes and manage your symptoms, visit MyHeartFailure.ca
MyHeartFailure.ca For more information on the symptoms of heart failure (HF) and how to talk to your doctor, go to MyHeartFailure.ca This guide is designed to help you speak to your doctor about the symptoms of chronic HF and how it is managed. It is not intended to be used to diagnose HF or to replace medical advice. This guide has been developed by one of Canada s leading research-based pharmaceutical companies. It takes into consideration recommendations from medical societies. This guide is designed for your personal use and no personal information will be collected in connection with its use. The creators of this guide will not have any liability from any and all claims, costs, losses, liabilities and damages of any sort, whether direct, indirect, special, consequential or otherwise, arising out of or related to your use of this guide. The guide has been designed for chronic HF patients only. Brought to you by one of Canada s leading research-based pharmaceutical companies. NPR/ENT/0142E