A cardiac event is one of the few bad deals in life that you can undo. Not that you can return your heart to its healthiest shape, but you can prevent it from happening again. Not that you’ll have anything in your mind when you get to the other side of life after surviving a complication with your heart.
Your recovery must have pillars to stand on, routines you have to follow. It’s nothing complicated, so these activities won’t give you the satisfaction of doing leaps and bounds for your cardiac health. But in living long after a major event, you’re better off starting small and work up to a normal cardiac state rather than rushing to it.
Weigh Yourself Every Single Day
You need to weigh yourself upon waking every day. Record your daily weigh-in results and inform your cardiology doctor in Payson right away if you find that you gained three or more pounds in just a day or five pounds in just a week. In the event that you gain weight suddenly, inspect your legs, ankles, and stomach for swelling, as this may be a warning sign of edema, which is fluid buildup in the tissues and will need medical attention right away to avoid hospitalization.
Keep Track of Your Blood Pressure
Blood pressure monitoring is immensely critical because high blood pressure over time could put unnecessary stress on your heart. This, in turn, could result in it weakening and working less properly. Make sure to record your blood pressure readings so that you can show them to your doctor during appointments. Take note that you might need to visit your doctor sooner if your blood readings are consistently high.
Take Your Prescribed Meds as Instructed
It’s imperative that you always take your medication according to schedule and your doctor’s instructions. If you’re the forgetful type, set up the alarm on your phone and place notes on your refrigerator, medicine cabinet, and bedside table so you’ll always be reminded of your medications.
Limit Your Intake of Salt
Salt is particularly infamous for causing fluid buildup in the body. As much as possible, don’t eat salty foods like bacon, salted butter, chips, fried foods, etc. It’s likewise best to avoid eating fast food and adding extra salt to your food.
Downsize Your Intake of Liquids
Excess water in the body could make your condition worse. When you have heart failure, your kidneys can’t get rid of water and sodium efficiently. According to the American Heart Association, limit your liquid intake to just two quarts max, daily, but make sure to drink enough to prevent dehydration. It’s also best to avoid alcohol entirely if at all possible.
Get Ample Sleep
Getting a good night’s rest all the time is good for your overall health, but especially if you have HF because individuals with HF have an increased risk of developing sleep apnea or sleep-disordered breathing. When your condition worsens, your sleep apnea will worsen as well so you need to manage both conditions.
You should make these guidelines a priority to manage your heart failure better. Yes, it will be difficult at first, but these will help prevent you from further damaging your heart and keep it working properly.
