Search Knowledgebase

Heart Failure

Topic Overview

Picture of the heart

What is heart failure?

Heart failure means that your heart muscle does not pump as much blood as your body needs. Failure does not mean that your heart has stopped. It means that your heart is not pumping as well as it should.

Because your heart cannot pump well, your body tries to make up for it. To do this:

  • Your body holds on to salt and water. This increases the amount of blood in your bloodstream.
  • Your heart beats faster.
  • Your heart gets bigger. See a picture of an enlarged heart.

Your body has an amazing ability to make up for heart failure. It may do such a good job that you don't know you have a disease. But at some point, your heart and body will no longer be able to keep up. Then fluid starts to build up in your body, and you have symptoms like feeling weak and out of breath.

This fluid buildup is called congestion. It's why some doctors call the disease congestive heart failure.

Heart failure usually gets worse over time. But treatment can slow the disease and help you feel better and live longer.

What causes heart failure?

Anything that damages your heart or affects how well it pumps can lead to heart failure. Common causes of heart failure are:

Other conditions that can lead to heart failure include:

What are the symptoms?

Symptoms of heart failure start to happen when your heart cannot pump enough blood to the rest of your body. In the early stages, you may:

  • Feel tired easily.
  • Be short of breath when you exert yourself.
  • Feel like your heart is pounding or racing (palpitations).
  • Feel weak or dizzy.

As heart failure gets worse, fluid starts to build up in your lungs and other parts of your body. This may cause you to:

  • Feel short of breath even at rest.
  • Have swelling (edema), especially in your legs, ankles, and feet.
  • Gain weight. This may happen over just a day or two, or more slowly.
  • Cough or wheeze, especially when you lie down.
  • Need to urinate more at night.
  • Feel bloated or sick to your stomach.

If your symptoms suddenly get worse, you will need emergency care.

How is heart failure diagnosed?

Your doctor may diagnose heart failure based on your symptoms and a physical examination. But you will need tests to find the cause and type of heart failure so that you can get the right treatment. These tests may include:

An echocardiogram is the best and simplest way to find out if you have heart failure, what type it is, and what is causing it. Your doctor can also use it to see if your heart failure is getting worse. It can measure how much blood your heart pumps to your body. This measurement is called the ejection fraction. If your ejection fraction gets lower and you are having more symptoms, it means that your heart failure is getting worse.

How is it treated?

Most people with heart failure need to take several medicines. Your doctor may prescribe medicines to:

  • Help keep heart failure from getting worse. These drugs include ACE inhibitors, angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs), beta-blockers, and vasodilators like hydralazine and nitroglycerin.
  • Reduce symptoms so you feel better. These drugs include diuretics (water pills), digoxin, and potassium.
  • Treat the cause of your heart failure.

It is very important to take your medicines exactly as your doctor tells you to. If you don't, your heart failure could get worse.

Depending on the cause of your heart failure, you might need surgery to help your heart work better. For example:

  • You might have bypass surgery or angioplasty to open clogged arteries, or you may need surgery to repair or replace a heart valve.
  • You might need to have a pacemaker or a defibrillator if you have a problem with your heart rhythm. These help your heart keep a steady rhythm.

Lifestyle changes are an important part of treatment. They can help slow down heart failure. They may also help control other diseases that make heart failure worse, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and coronary artery disease. The best steps you can take are to:

  • Eat less salt (sodium). Sodium causes your body to retain water and makes it harder for your heart to pump. Your doctor may also ask you to limit how much fluid you drink.
  • Get regular exercise. Your doctor can tell you what level of exercise is safe for you, how to check your pulse, and how to know if you are doing too much.
  • Take rest breaks during the day.
  • Lose weight if you are overweight. Even a few kilograms can make a difference.
  • Stop smoking. Smoking damages your heart and makes exercise harder to do.
  • Limit alcohol. Ask your doctor how much, if any, is safe.

To stay as healthy as possible, work closely with your doctor. Have all your tests, and go to all your appointments. It is also important to:

  • Talk to your doctor before you take any new medicine, including non-prescription and prescription drugs, vitamins, and herbs. Some of them may make your heart failure worse.
  • Keep track of your symptoms. Weigh yourself at the same time every day, and write down your weight. Call your doctor if you have a sudden weight gain, a change in your ability to exercise, or any sudden change in your symptoms.

What can you expect if you have heart failure?

Medicines and lifestyle changes can slow or even reverse heart failure for some people. But heart failure often gets worse over time.

Early on, your symptoms may not be too bad. As heart failure gets worse, you may need to limit your activities. Treatment can often help reduce symptoms, but it usually does not get rid of them.

Heart failure can also lead to other health problems. These may include:

Your doctor may be able to give you medicine or other treatment to prevent or treat these problems.

Heart failure can get worse suddenly. If this happens, you will need emergency care. To prevent sudden heart failure, you need to avoid things that can trigger it. These include eating too much salt, missing a dose of your medicine, and exercising too hard.

You may want to think about planning for the future. An advance care plan lets doctors know what type of life-support measures you want if your health gets much worse. You can also choose a substitute decision-maker to make decisions in case you are not able to. It can be comforting to know that you will get the type of care you want.

Knowing that your health may get worse can be hard. It is normal to sometimes feel sad or hopeless. But if these feelings last, talk to your doctor. Antidepressant medicines, counselling, or both may help you cope.

Cause

Many problems can cause heart failure, including damage to the heart's muscle, valves, or electrical system. These can all affect how well the heart pumps.

Problems that damage the heart muscle

Other things that damage the heart's valves

Problems with the heart's electrical system

  • Fast, slow, or irregular heart rhythms, including atrial fibrillation
  • Electrical signals that don't flow as they should from the upper to the lower part of the heart (heart block)

Other problems

  • Disease of the sac around the heart (pericarditis)
  • Postpartum heart failure. This rare problem can happen late in a woman's pregnancy or within the first 5 months after delivery.
  • Severe anemia
  • Hyperthyroidism

Certain triggers, such as too much sodium or not taking medicines the right way, may suddenly make heart failure worse. This can sometimes cause deadly problems such as pulmonary edema or cardiogenic shock.

Symptoms

At first you may not have any symptoms from heart failure. For a while, your heart and body can make up for heart failure. For example, your heart can pump faster and pump more blood with each beat. This is called compensation.

But as your heart has more trouble pumping enough blood to your body, you will likely have symptoms. These symptoms may get worse or change if your heart failure gets worse.

Symptoms of heart failure start to happen when your heart cannot pump enough blood to the rest of your body. In the early stages, you may:

  • Feel tired easily.
  • Be short of breath when you exert yourself.
  • Feel like your heart is pounding or racing (palpitations).
  • Feel weak or dizzy.

As heart failure gets worse, fluid starts to build up in your lungs and other parts of your body. This may cause you to:

  • Feel short of breath even at rest.
  • Have swelling (edema), especially in your legs, ankles, and feet.
  • Gain weight. This may happen over just a day or two, or more slowly.
  • Cough or wheeze, especially when you lie down.
  • Need to urinate more at night.
  • Feel bloated or sick to your stomach.

How doctors talk about heart failure

  • Heart failure is grouped—or classified—according to symptoms. Your treatment is based partly on what class of symptoms you have.
  • There's also another way to define heart failure. It's based on the stages you might go through as your heart failure gets worse. Your doctor also may make treatment choices based on your stage of heart failure.

Symptoms of sudden heart failure

Sometimes your symptoms may get worse very quickly. This is called sudden heart failure. It causes fluid to build up in your lungs, causing congestion. (This is why the problem is often called congestive heart failure.) Symptoms may include:

  • Severe shortness of breath.
  • An irregular or fast heartbeat.
  • Coughing up foamy, pink mucus.

Sudden heart failure is an emergency. You need care right away.

More information

What Increases Your Risk

Heart failure is usually caused by another health problem, often coronary artery disease or high blood pressure. So anything that increases your risk for one of those problems also increases your risk for heart failure.

The number of people who have heart failure is growing. Two of the reasons for this growth are that people in general are living longer and people who already have heart failure are also living longer. The risk of heart failure rises as a person gets older. So more and more people are expected to have heart failure as the population gets older.

More information

When to Call a Doctor

Call 911 or other emergency services immediately if you have:

  • Chest pain that has not gone away within 5 minutes after you have taken one nitroglycerin dose and/or rested, especially if the pain is pressing or crushing and occurs with shortness of breath, sweating, and nausea.
  • Symptoms of a stroke. These include:
    • Sudden numbness, tingling, weakness, or paralysis in your face, arm, or leg, especially on only one side of your body.
    • Sudden vision changes.
    • Sudden trouble speaking.
    • Sudden confusion or trouble understanding simple statements.
    • Sudden problems with walking or balance.
    • A sudden, severe headache that is different from past headaches.
  • Symptoms of sudden heart failure, such as:
    • Severe shortness of breath (trouble getting a breath even when resting).
    • Suddenly getting an irregular heartbeat that lasts for a while, or getting a very fast heartbeat along with dizziness, nausea, or fainting.
    • Foamy, pink mucus with a cough and shortness of breath.

Call your doctor soon if you have symptoms of heart failure, which include:

  • Being very tired or having weakness that prevents you from doing your usual activities.
  • Trouble breathing during routine activities or exercise that did not cause problems before.
  • Shortness of breath when you lie down.
  • Waking up at night with shortness of breath or feeling as though you are suffocating.
  • A dry, hacking cough, especially when you lie down.
  • Sudden weight gain, such as 1.5 kg (3 lb) or more in 2 to 3 days.
  • Increased fluid buildup in your body (most often in the legs).

Also call your doctor soon if you have been diagnosed with heart failure and your symptoms get worse. In general, it is a good idea to call your doctor anytime you have a sudden change in symptoms.

Call your doctor right away if you have a pacemaker or ICD and think you have an infection near the device. Signs of an infection include:

  • Changes in the skin around your pacemaker or ICD, such as:
    • Swelling.
    • Warmth.
    • Redness.
    • Pain.
  • Unexplained fever.

Watchful waiting

You can try home treatment for symptoms such as mild fluid buildup (edema) and feeling very tired. But sudden shortness of breath, even if it is mild, should always be checked by your doctor.

  • If symptoms go away and don't return, you may not need more treatment.
  • See your doctor if you often need home treatment to keep even minor symptoms under control.

Who to see

Your family doctor or general practitioner can check early symptoms of heart failure. You may be referred to a specialist, such as:

A cardiovascular surgeon may perform surgical repair of heart valves or a heart transplant.

More information

Examinations and Tests

Heart failure is a complex problem. So you will likely have several different tests over time. These tests can:

  • Find out if you have heart failure.
  • Find the cause of your heart failure.
  • Find the type of heart failure you have.
  • Show how bad your heart failure is (class and stage).
  • See how well your treatment is working.

If you have symptoms that suggest heart failure, you may have:

An echocardiogram is the best and simplest way to diagnose heart failure. It also can help guide treatment.

Sometimes, because of a person's weight, breast size, or severe lung disease, an echocardiogram might not be accurate. If that happens, a cardiac blood pool scan may be done instead. It checks how well the left ventricle is pumping. But it's not as good at finding heart valve disease and a thick heart muscle.

Tests also may be done to find areas of the heart that are not getting enough blood. These tests include:

More information

Treatment Overview

Your treatment for heart failure depends on:

  • The cause of your heart failure.
  • Which type of heart failure you have.
  • How bad your symptoms are (classification).
  • How well your body is able to make up (compensate) for your heart failure.

Sometimes heart failure can be fixed if another problem can be corrected, such as by replacing a heart valve or treating hyperthyroidism.

Heart failure caused by a heart attack may be treated with coronary artery bypass surgery or angioplasty, medicine, and cardiac rehabilitation.

Initial treatment

In the early stages of heart failure, you'll take medicines and make lifestyles changes that can improve your symptoms. Treatment also may prevent more damage to your heart.

You will have regular doctor visits to see how treatment is working and to make changes to your care as needed.

Medicines

You will likely take:

You also will likely take medicines to treat the cause of your heart failure. For more information, see the Medications section.

It's very important to take your medicines exactly as your doctor prescribes.

Lifestyle changes

You will need to make some changes in your daily life to treat heart failure. Your doctor may ask you to:

  • Eat less salt.
  • Be more active.
  • Stay at a healthy weight, or lose weight if you need to. Even a few kilograms can make a difference.
  • Stop smoking.
  • Limit alcohol.
  • Control your blood pressure.
  • Control your diabetes.
  • Limit how much fluid you drink.

Making lifestyle changes can be hard. For more information, see the Living With Heart Failure section.

Ongoing treatment

You will keep following your lifestyle changes, such as limiting sodium, not smoking, and being active.

Your doctor will add other medicines and other treatments as you need them. Your doctor also will try to prevent or treat problems—such as fever, arrhythmia, and anemia—that can lead to sudden heart failure.

Your treatment may include:

  • Getting vaccines. Your doctor may want you to get vaccines against pneumonia and the flu (influenza). These vaccines can keep you from getting infections that could put you in the hospital.
  • Checking your weight. Your doctor will probably give you guidelines for watching fluid buildup and tell you how much weight gain is too much.
  • Getting devices to fix heart rhythm problems. In some cases, your doctor may recommend a biventricular pacemaker that is placed in your chest to keep your heart beating at a normal rhythm. This is also called cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT). Or you may have an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) to stop a deadly rhythm. Some people get a pacemaker that is combined with an ICD.
  • Oxygen treatment. Your doctor may recommend oxygen therapy to reduce your shortness of breath and increase your ability to exercise.

Treatment if your condition gets much worse

In some cases when standard treatment doesn't help, you may have other treatments. These include:

But these are options for only a very small number of people.

Hospice palliative care

As your heart failure gets worse, you may want to think about hospice palliative care. It's a kind of care for people who have illnesses that don't go away and often get worse over time. It's different than care to cure your illness. But some people combine both types of care.

Hospice palliative care:

  • May improve your quality of life—not just in your body, but also in your mind and spirit.
  • May help you manage symptoms or side effects from treatment.
  • Can help you cope with your feelings about living with a long-term illness.
  • Can help you make plans around your medical care.
  • Can help your family better understand your illness and how to support you.

If you are interested in hospice palliative care, talk to your doctor. He or she may be able to manage your care or refer you to a doctor who specializes in this type of care.

For more information, see the topic Hospice Palliative Care.

End-of-life care

Because heart failure tends to get worse over time, it's important to think about what kind of care you would like at the end of your life. It's also important that your doctor and family know what you want.

An advance care plan includes documents that tell doctors how to care for you at the end of your life. For more information, see End-of-Life Decisions.

More information

Prevention

The best way to prevent heart failure is to:

  • Lower your risk of getting heart disease by making lifestyle changes.
  • Control certain health problems, such as high blood pressure and diabetes.

To reduce your risk:

  • Don't smoke. If you smoke, quit. Smoking greatly increases your risk for heart disease. Avoid secondhand smoke too.
  • Lower your cholesterol. If you have high cholesterol, follow your doctor's advice for lowering it. Eating a heart-healthy diet—such as the TLC diet —exercising, and quitting smoking will help keep your cholesterol low.
  • Control your blood pressure. High blood pressure raises your risk of getting heart disease and heart failure. Exercising, limiting alcohol, and controlling stress will help keep your blood pressure in a healthy range.
  • Get regular exercise. Exercise will help control your weight, blood pressure, and stress. Controlling these things will help keep your heart healthy. Try to do activities that raise your heart rate. Aim for at least 2½ hours of moderate to vigorous exercise a week. One way to do this is to be active at least 10 minutes 3 times a day, 5 days a week. Talk to your doctor before starting an exercise program.
  • Control diabetes. Take your medicines as directed, and work with your doctor to make a diet and exercise plan to control diabetes.
  • Limit how much alcohol you drink. Heavy consumption of alcohol can lead to heart failure.

Living With Heart Failure

You can feel better when you have heart failure by taking your medicines as directed, having a healthy lifestyle, and avoiding things that make heart failure worse. To find out the things you can do every day, what to watch for, and when to call a doctor, see:

Quick Tips: Self-Care for Heart Failure

Taking medicines

Having a healthy lifestyle

Avoiding things that make heart failure worse

Avoid triggers, such as too much salt (sodium) and certain medicines, that can cause sudden heart failure. For more information, see:

Click here to view an Actionset. Heart Failure: Avoiding Triggers for Sudden Heart Failure.

Treating your sleep problems

Photo of a man

One Man's Story:

Pete, 70

"I was having a lot of trouble getting enough sleep. I was snoring so bad that my wife was sleeping in another room. I'd wake up 7 times a night. Sometimes I'd wake up gasping for breath. The next day I'd be so tired that I'd fall asleep while doing my woodworking in the garage. And I was really fuzzy-headed. I couldn't remember anything.

"I thought it might be my heart failure. So I decided to talk to my doctor about it, and he suggested a sleep study. I found out that I have sleep apnea. I haven't been getting enough oxygen because of it. He put me on a CPAP machine at night. I've used it for the past 4 months.

"It took a little time to get used to sleeping with a mask. But I'm sleeping much better. Now if I wake up, it's only once, and I go right back to sleep. I feel so much better during the day."—Pete

This story is based on information gathered from many people living with heart failure.

Many people with heart failure have trouble sleeping. Your doctor may be able to find out what is causing your sleep problems and help you get a good night's sleep.

For more information, see:

Click here to view a Decision Point. Sleep Apnea: Should I Have a Sleep Study?
Click here to view an Actionset. Insomnia: Improving Your Sleep.

Getting help for problems with sex

Most people with heart failure can still have an active sex life. But sexual problems are common. Your interest may drop, or you may have shortness of breath or other symptoms that limit your ability to have sex. Men may have erection problems.

Talk to your doctor. You can get help for erection problems or other sexual troubles. You also can follow some tips to make sex easier on your heart. For more information, see the topics:

Other things you can do to take care of yourself

Help for caregivers

It can be rewarding to help a loved one with heart failure. But it's also a lot of work. And it can be hard emotionally.

If you are taking care of a loved one, make sure that you also take care of yourself. This can mean taking breaks by getting help from family or friends. You also may be able to use respite care. These services provide someone who will stay with your loved one while you get out of the house for a few hours. For more information, see:

More information

Coping With Your Feelings

Heart failure brings big changes to your life. You may struggle with sadness and worry. You may wonder if you'll still be able to enjoy your life. Coping with your feelings and seeking help when you need it can help you live better with heart failure.

Depression and anxiety

Photo of a woman

One Woman's Story:

Joan, 54

"I would sit at my kitchen table and feel I was in this cloud of dread. I didn't feel like me. I felt like, 'I'm never going to be me again.'"—Joan

Read about how Joan got help for depression and anxiety.

Heart failure can be hard on your emotions. You may feel depressed that you can't do some of the things you used to do. You may worry about your future. And symptoms of heart failure, such as shortness of breath, can make this anxiety worse.

These feelings are common. Talk to your doctor if you have symptoms of depression or are worried a lot. Depression and anxiety can be treated with counselling and medicine.

You also can help yourself feel better by changing your "self-talk." Those are the things you tell yourself about how you're coping. Negative thoughts can make you feel bad. Changing the way you think can change the way you feel. To learn how to think in a positive way, see:

Click here to view an Actionset. Anxiety: Using Positive Thinking.
Click here to view an Actionset. Depression: Using Positive Thinking.
Click here to view an Actionset. Positive Thinking: Stopping Unwanted Thoughts.

For more information, see the topics:

Stress

The challenges of living with heart failure can increase your stress. And stress can make living with heart failure even harder. Stress also can disturb your sleep and make depression and anxiety worse. Here are some things that can help your body, mind, and spirit:

Click here to view an Actionset. Doing Progressive Muscle Relaxation
Click here to view an Actionset. Managing Your Time
Click here to view an Actionset. Reducing Stress by Being Assertive
Click here to view an Actionset. Doing Breathing Exercises to Relax
Click here to view an Actionset. Doing Guided Imagery to Relax
Click here to view an Actionset. Doing Meditation
Click here to view an Actionset. Practicing Yoga to Relax

Getting support

Emotional support from friends and family can help you cope with the struggles of heart failure. You might want to think about joining a heart failure support group. Ask your doctor about the types of support that are available where you live.

Meeting other people with the same problems can help you know you're not alone. If you're shy or aren't a joiner, you can look at an online support group. Even though people online aren't talking face-to-face, they're sharing their feelings and creating a community.

Medications

You probably will need to take several medicines to treat heart failure, even if you don't have symptoms yet. Medicines don't cure heart failure. But they can help your heart work better and improve any symptoms that you do have.

Medicines can:

  • Relieve or control symptoms.
  • Treat other health problems you have, such as coronary artery disease.
  • Improve your daily quality of life.
  • Slow the rate at which your heart failure gets worse.
  • Reduce the chance of other problems from heart failure, such as stroke.
  • Reduce hospital stays.
  • Help you live as long as possible.

It's very important to take your medicines exactly as your doctor says. If you don't, your heart failure may get worse or you may get sudden heart failure. For more information, see:

Click here to view an Actionset. Heart Failure: Taking Medicines Properly.

Medicine Choices

The medicines you take will depend on the type of heart failure you have. Some of the medicines treat the heart's pumping problems (systolic heart failure), while others treat problems with filling (diastolic heart failure). The most commonly used medicines are listed below.

Medicines for pumping problems (systolic heart failure)

These include:

  • ACE inhibitors (angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors) to relax and widen blood vessels. This makes it easier for blood to flow.
  • ARBs (angiotensin II receptor blockers) to make it easier for blood to flow through the vessels.
  • Diuretics to help relieve symptoms like swelling in the legs.
  • Aldosterone receptor antagonists to make the kidneys get rid of extra fluid.
  • Digoxin to help the heart pump more blood with each beat.
  • Beta-blockers slow the heart rate and may help the heart fill with blood more completely.
  • Vasodilators to lower blood pressure and reduce the workload on the heart.

Medicines for filling problems (diastolic heart failure)

Medicines that might be used include:

Other medicines

You also may take other medicines for health problems that can cause heart failure or for problems caused by heart failure. These problems include irregular heart rhythms, blood clots, and high blood pressure.

The medicines include:

What to Think About

Talk to your doctor before you take any over-the-counter medicines. Some of them might make your symptoms worse. For more information, see:

Click here to view an Actionset. Heart Failure: Avoiding Medicines That Make Symptoms Worse.

More information

Surgery

People who have heart failure may have surgery to:

  • Open clogged arteries. Coronary artery bypass surgery or angioplasty may help some people who have heart failure with chest pain (angina) or who have had a heart attack.
  • Fix problems that cause heart failure, such as damaged valves.
  • Get a new heart. You have to meet certain conditions to get a heart transplant. But you may be able to have one if you have very bad, life-limiting symptoms.

Surgery Choices

For more information on bypass surgery and angioplasty, see the topic Coronary Artery Disease.

Other Treatment

If you have heart failure, you may get a device to fix a deadly heart rhythm or to help your heart pump better.

Pacemakers

Photo of a woman

One Woman's Story:

Joyce, 83

Getting a pacemaker has "made all the difference in the world. I could work in my yard, and walk my dog."—Joyce

Read about how a pacemaker helped Joyce be more active.

Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) uses a biventricular pacemaker which makes the heart’s lower chambers (ventricles) pump in the right order. This type of pacemaker can help you feel better so you can be more active. It also can help keep you out of the hospital and help you live longer. For more information on pacemakers, see:

Click here to view a Decision Point. Heart Failure: Should I Get a Pacemaker (Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy)?

If you get a pacemaker, you have to be careful not to get too close to some devices with strong magnetic or electrical fields. These include MRI machines, battery-powered cordless power tools, and CB or ham radios. But most everyday appliances are safe. For more information, see:

Click here to view an Actionset. Heart Problems: Living With a Pacemaker or ICD.

A pacemaker may be used alone or along with an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) for heart failure.

Implantable defibrillators (ICDs)

Implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) can prevent sudden death from an abnormal heart rhythm and may help you live longer. An ICD checks the heart for very fast and deadly heart rhythms. If the heart goes into one of these rhythms, the ICD shocks it to stop the deadly rhythm and returns the heart to a normal rhythm. For more information, see:

Click here to view a Decision Point. Heart Failure: Should I Get an Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator (ICD)?

If you get an ICD, you have to be careful not to get too close to some devices with strong magnetic or electrical fields. These include MRI machines, battery-powered cordless power tools, and CB or ham radios. But most everyday appliances are safe. For more information, see:

Click here to view an Actionset. Heart Problems: Living With a Pacemaker or ICD.

An ICD may be used alone or along with a pacemaker for heart failure.

Ventricular assist devices (VADs)

Ventricular assist devices (VADs), also known as heart pumps, may be placed into the chest to help the heart pump more blood. VADs can keep people alive until a donor heart is available for transplant. In some cases, VADs may also be used as an alternative to heart transplant for long-term treatment. VADs are used in people who have severe heart failure.

Other treatments

In some cases you might have:

Supplements

Talk to your doctor before you take any over-the-counter medicine or supplement. There's no strong evidence that vitamins or other supplements can help treat heart failure. They are used along with medical heart failure treatments, not instead of treatment.

But you may still hear about supplements that might improve heart failure symptoms. But no supplement has been shown definitely to relieve heart failure or help you live longer.

Examples include coenzyme Q10, fish oil, and hawthorn.

  • Only some of the studies of coenzyme Q10 showed that it helps heart failure symptoms.1
  • Fish oil supplements have not been shown to definitely help heart failure patients feel better or live longer. But eating fish that have a lot of omega-3 fatty acids, like tuna and salmon, are part of a heart-healthy diet.
  • Hawthorn is an herb that is sometimes used in Europe and Asia to try to increase blood flow to the heart.

End-of-Life Decisions

Heart failure tends to get worse over time. So you need to decide what kind of care you want at the end of your life.

It can be hard to have talks with your doctor and family about the end of your life. But making these decisions now may bring you and your family peace of mind. Your family won't have to wonder what you want. And you can spend your time focusing on your relationships.

You will need to decide if you want life-support measures if your health gets very bad. An advance care plan includes a document that tells doctors how to care for you at the end of your life. This care includes electronic devices that are used for heart failure, such as pacemakers. You also can say where you want to have care. And you can name someone who can make sure your wishes are followed.

For more information, see the topics:

Other Places To Get Help

Organizations

Canadian Cardiovascular Society
222 Queen Street
Suite 1403
Ottawa, ON  K1P 5V9
Phone: 1-877-569-3407 toll-free
(613) 569-3407
Fax: (613) 569-6574
Web Address: www.ccs.ca
 

The Canadian Cardiovascular Society works to advance the cardiovascular health and care of Canadians through leadership, research, and advocacy.


Canadian Association of Cardiac Rehabilitation
1390 Taylor Avenue
Winnipeg, MB  R3M 3V8
Phone: (204) 488-5854
Fax: (204) 928-7873
Web Address: www.cacr.ca
 

The Canadian Association of Cardiac Rehabilitation (CACR) is a professional organization that promotes research in cardiac disease prevention and rehabilitation. The CACR website includes articles on topics related to cardiac disease.


Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada
222 Queen Street
Suite 1402
Ottawa, ON  K1P 5V9
Phone: (613) 569-4361
Fax: (613) 569-3278
Web Address: www.heartandstroke.ca
 

The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada works to improve the health of Canadians by preventing and reducing disability and death from heart disease and stroke through research, health promotion, and advocacy.


Heart Rhythm Society
1400 K Street NW
Suite 500
Washington, DC  20005
Phone: (202) 464-3400
Fax: (202) 464-3401
Web Address: www.hrsonline.org
 

The Heart Rhythm Society provides information for patients and the public about heart rhythm problems. The Web site includes a section that focuses on patient information. This information includes causes, prevention, tests, treatment, and patient stories about heart rhythm problems. You can use the Find a Specialist section of the Web site to search for a heart rhythm specialist practicing in your area.


U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
P.O. Box 30105
Bethesda, MD  20824-0105
Phone: (301) 592-8573
Fax: (240) 629-3246
TDD: (240) 629-3255
Email: nhlbiinfo@nhlbi.nih.gov
Web Address: www.nhlbi.nih.gov
 

The U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) information center offers information and publications about preventing and treating:

  • Diseases affecting the heart and circulation, such as heart attacks, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, peripheral artery disease, and heart problems present at birth (congenital heart diseases).
  • Diseases that affect the lungs, such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), emphysema, sleep apnea, and pneumonia.
  • Diseases that affect the blood, such as anemia, hemochromatosis, hemophilia, thalassemia, and von Willebrand disease.

References

Citations

  1. Coenzyme Q10 (2006). Medical Letter on Drugs and Therapeutics, 48(1229): 19–20.

Other Works Consulted

  • American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology (2006). AHA/ACC guidelines for secondary prevention for patients with coronary and other atherosclerotic vascular disease: 2006 update. Circulation, 113(19): 2363–2372. [Erratum in Circulation, 113(22): 847.]
  • Arnold JM, et al. (2006). Canadian Cardiovascular Society consensus conference recommendations on heart failure 2006: Diagnosis and management. Canadian Journal of Cardiology, 22(1): 23–45.
  • Baddour LM, et al. (2010). Update on cardiovascular implantable electronic device infections and their management. A scientific statement from the American Heart Association. Circulation, 121(3): 458–477.
  • Drugs for treatment of chronic heart failure (2009). Treatment Guidelines From The Medical Letter, 7(83): 53–56.
  • Epstein AE, et al. (2008). ACC/AHA/HRS 2008 Guidelines for Device-Based Therapy of Cardiac Rhythm Abnormalities: A Report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines (Writing Committee to Revise the ACC/AHA/NASPE 2002 Guideline Update for Implantation of Cardiac Pacemakers and Antiarrhythmia Devices): Developed in Collaboration With the American Association for Thoracic Surgery and Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Circulation, 117(21): e350–e408. [Correction in Circulation, 120(5): e34–e35.]
  • Howlett JG, et al. (2009). Canadian Cardiovascular Society consensus conference guidelines on heart failure, update 2009: Diagnosis and management of right-sided heart failure, myocarditis, device therapy, and recent important clinical trials. Canadian Journal of Cardiology, 25(2): 85–105.
  • Hunt SA, et al. (2009). 2009 focused update incorporated into the ACC/AHA 2005 guidelines for the diagnosis and management of heart failure in adults. A report of the American College of Cardiology Foundation/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines. Circulation, 119(14): e391–e479.
  • Kaul S, et al. (2010). Thiazolidinedione drugs and cardiovascular risks: A science advisory from the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology Foundation. Circulation, 121(16): 1868–1877.
  • Lampert R, et al. (2010). HRS Expert consensus statement on the management of cardiovascular implantable electronic devices (CIEDs) in patients nearing end of life or requesting withdrawal of therapy. Heart Rhythm, 7(7): 1088–1026. Available online: http://www.hrsonline.org/Policy/ClinicalGuidelines/upload/ceids_mgmt_eol.pdf.
  • McKelvie R (2010). Heart failure, search date May 2009. Online version of BMJ Clinical Evidence: http://www.clinicalevidence.com.
  • Pina IL, et al. (2003). Exercise and heart failure: A statement from the American Heart Association Committee on Exercise, Rehabilitation, and Prevention. Circulation, 107(8): 1210–1225.
  • Riegel B, et al. (2009). State of the science. Promoting self-care in patients with heart failure. A scientific statement from the American Heart Association. Circulation, 120(12): 1141–1163.
  • Roy D, et al. (2008). Rhythm control versus rate control for atrial fibrillation and heart failure. New England Journal of Medicine, 358(25): 2667–2677.
  • Schocken DD, et al. (2008). Prevention of heart failure: A scientific statement from the American Heart Association Councils on Epidemiology and Prevention, Clinical Cardiology, Cardiovascular Nursing, and High Blood Pressure Research; Quality of Care and Outcomes Research Interdisciplinary Working Group; and Functional Genomics and Translational Biology Interdisciplinary Working Group. Circulation, 117(19): 2544–2565.
  • Sears SF, et al. (2005). How to respond to an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator shock. Circulation, 111(23): e380–e382.
  • Slaughter MS, et al. (2009). Advanced heart failure treated with continuous-flow left ventricular assist device. New England Journal of Medicine, 361(23): 2241–2251.
  • Somers VK, et al. (2008). Sleep apnea and cardiovascular disease: An American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology Foundation Scientific Statement from the American Heart Association Council for High Blood Pressure Research Professional Education Committee, Council on Clinical Cardiology, Stroke Council, and Council on Cardiovascular Nursing in collaboration with the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute National Center on Sleep Disorders Research (National Institutes of Health). Circulation, 118(10): 1080–1111.
  • U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2008). 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans (ODPHP Publication No. U0036). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Available online: http://www.health.gov/paguidelines/pdf/paguide.pdf.
  • Weintraub NL, et al. (2010). Acute heart failure syndromes: Emergency department presentation, treatment, and disposition: Current approaches and future aims. A scientific statement from the American Heart Association. Circulation, 122(19): 1975–1996.

Credits

By Healthwise Staff
Primary Medical Reviewer E. Gregory Thompson, MD - Internal Medicine
Primary Medical Reviewer Brian D. O'Brien, MD - Internal Medicine
Specialist Medical Reviewer Robert A. Kloner, MD, PhD - Cardiology
Last Revised August 24, 2011

Last Revised: August 24, 2011

Author: Healthwise Staff

Medical Review: E. Gregory Thompson, MD - Internal Medicine & Brian D. O'Brien, MD - Internal Medicine & Robert A. Kloner, MD, PhD - Cardiology

This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise, Incorporated disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information. Your use of this information means that you agree to the Terms of Use. How this information was developed to help you make better health decisions.

To learn more visit Healthwise.org

© 1995-2012 Healthwise, Incorporated. Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated.