Heart failure care

Many people in our lives have unhealthy hearts. Some are congenital, while others are acquired. Most of them are acquired in the elderly. Heart failure requires very high levels of care in daily life because the heart directly affects the body's vital conditions. If daily care is done well, it will also be helpful in treating heart failure. As long as everyone persists in doing it well, everything will be fine.

Heart failure is actually not scary. As long as you adjust your lifestyle habits, there will generally be no problem. However, if you still have no restraint in your diet and overeat, it will definitely have a great impact on your condition.

General treatment

(1) Rest

Limit the patient's physical and mental activities. Physical and mental rest are very important in treating patients with early heart failure. Rest can lower the basal metabolic rate and reduce cardiac work; by reducing iliac muscle oxygen consumption, increasing renal blood flow and tubular filtration rate, it is beneficial for the kidneys to excrete sodium and water and reduce the capacity load of the heart; patients should increase their bed rest time, because standing position stimulates aldosterone production, while lying position reduces aldosterone production, thereby having a sodium excretion and diuretic effect. Patients with mild heart failure can significantly alleviate their condition by resting. Patients should be encouraged to engage in moderate activity during the recovery period. Long-term bed rest can easily lead to venous thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, orthostatic hypotension, weakness, etc. For patients resting at home, attention should be paid to the patient's family, economic and social situation. If the patient has housework such as buying groceries, cooking, cleaning the room, etc., he obviously cannot stay in bed or sit in a chair to rest. It is necessary to mobilize various forces in the family and society to help the patient in order to reduce the harm of premature activity to the patient.

(2) Psychological care

Mental stress plays an important role in the onset of heart failure and sometimes even induces pulmonary edema. At the same time, the breathing difficulties caused by heart failure often make patients feel nervous and fearful. Nurses should give patients enough attention and psychological comfort. If necessary, they should use sedatives as prescribed by the doctor to reduce the adverse effects of sympathetic nerve excitement on the heart.

(3) Diet and control of sodium intake

Patients with heart failure often have reduced sodium excretion, and any form of sodium salt addition can aggravate symptoms. Patients with severe heart failure should limit sodium salt intake to 0.5-1.0g (equivalent to 1-2.5g of table salt), and patients with mild heart failure should limit sodium salt intake to 2-3g (equivalent to 5-7g of table salt). If the patient is already using diuretics, there is generally no need to strictly restrict sodium intake. The degree of sodium restriction should be based on the severity of heart failure and the effectiveness of diuretic therapy. Patients should eat light, easily digestible food, preferably liquid or semi-liquid food, and avoid indigestible and gas-producing foods. Eat small meals frequently. For patients with paroxysmal dyspnea at night, dinner can be eaten earlier. For patients with low plasma protein and disease related to nutritional deficiency, protein intake should not be less than 1-1.5g/(kg·d). Appropriately limit calorie intake to reduce the burden on the heart.

The above is an introduction to the nursing information about heart failure. I believe that after reading it, you will have a better understanding of this knowledge. For patients with heart failure, the nursing process is very important. If the patient can cooperate well, it will be very helpful for the heart to return to normal. Everyone must know how to take care of their body.