Please share some do's and don'ts with regards to heart failure.

Do: Do not consume soy products - they have hormonal effects that can injure your heart & make CHF worse.

Avoid: Avoid consuming vegetable oils like soy & canola - these will damage your heart & make CHF worse.

Proper: Proper diet, proper sleep & proper exercise can be beneficial to those with chf.

Avoid: Avoid consuming sugars & sweets - they will damage your heart & can lead to chf.

Reduce: Reduce risk factors. Exercise, diet, blood pressure reduction, and not smoking.

Do: Do weigh yourself every day to avoid the surprise hospital visit.

If: If you have diabetes, you are at greater risk of heart failure.

Know: Know your risk and take action to prevent heart failure.

Avoid: Avoid eating "cured meats" - the nitrates & nitrites in them can damage your heart & make CHF worse.

Control: Control blood presssure, weight, and cholesterol, and don't smoke.

Don't: Don't stop your meds because you have been feeling good. In a few months you'll feel bad again.

Make: Make it a habit of taking your weight every day. Catching fluid gain early can prevent a trip to er.

DON'T: Don't smoke. Smoking will raise blood pressure & decrease the oxygen in your blood.

Do: Do - remain physically active while following any restrictions set by your physician.

DO: Do - stay within a healthy weight range to reduce extra burden on the heart.

DON'T: Don't - drink alcohol if you have heart failure. It can weaken heart muscle & interact with meds.

DO: Do - protect sleep. You may need to sleep with head at 45% angle for shortness of breath.

DO-reduce: Do-reduce stress - tai chi, meditation, acupuncture, breathing exercises or progressive muscle relaxation.

"Heart: "heart failure" may be a misleading term. The heart squeezes less effectively but it can be managed!

Heart: Heart is a very metabolically active organ and needs high amounts of several nutrients, especially coq10.

Take: Take heart nutrients like coq10, ribose, l-carnitine to strengthen the heart muscle.

These: These drug classes help chf: beta-blockers; ace inhibitors, arbs, aldosterone blockers. Be on several!

Dont: Don't smoke. Control BP & cholesterol. Avoid getting obese. Exercise regularly. Get yearly checkups.

Be: Be mindful of your salt intake. Salt increases blood volume and this makes your heart work harder.

Weigh: Weigh yourself everyday and restrict sodium to 200 msg a day.

Weigh: Weigh yourself every day. Naked is best.

Reduce: Reduce salt to less than 1500mg a day. Monitor BP and weight daily. Take meds regularly.

Heart: Heart failure is a symptom not a disease. Underlying cause of failure needs to be treated as well.

Do: Do pay attention to edema, exercise capacity and weight. They guide therapy.

Educate: Educate yourself and your family. Successful heart failure therapy hinges on knowledge.

Myth:: Myth: you have no quality if life. In fact, with aggressive therapy, you can live quite well.

Try: Try to avoid anti-inflammatory medications. They can worsen heart failure.

Do: Do keep an eye on your blood pressure, don't skip medications.

Follow: Follow a heart healthy life! Use olive oil or canola oil in cooking instead of butter or lard.

Diagnosis:: Diagnosis: you can only diagnose heart failure accurately with an echocardiogram.

Controlling: Controlling your blood pressure is a crucial part of preventing heart disease.

Exercise,: Exercise, mostly aerobic. Know your limits and eat a healthy diet.

Keep: Keep an eye on your weight, if your weight is increasing it may be a sign of worsening chf.

A: A healthy lifestyle can avoid 48% of all cases of heart failure.

Check: Check & optimize lipoproteins, hba1c & BP by early 20s. Make sure they stay good & prevent problem.

After: After a diuretic (furosemide) the next most important meds are a beta-blocker and an ace inhibitor.

Exercise: Exercise is very important for improving the outcome of heart failure.

Most: Most people with heart failure benefit from magnesium. Taurate, glycinate & citrate are best-absorbed.

CoQ10: Coq10 is often a useful addition to heart failure treatment. The ubqh form may be the best.

D-Ribose: D-ribose is a very safe and effective adjunct to treatment of heart failure.

Stay: Stay healthy. Do not smoke, it greatly increases your risk.

Rapid: Rapid weight gains can be a sign of fluid retention and increasing failure.

Don't: Don't add salt to food before cooking. Add it afterwards. You'll really cut down on salt intake!

Magnesium: Magnesium decreases risk for sudden death in chf. Inexpensive 400mg tablets as oxide - take 1/day!

Have: Have your doctor check you for diabetes, a common co-morbid condition that can cause it!

Ubiquinol,: Ubiquinol, a form of co-q10, is better absorbed than ubiquinone in generic co-q10! helps chf!

Do:: Do: compliance with treatment and low salt diet. Positive outlook to decrease stress. Don't smoke.

Easy: Easy on the salt and sugar. Feel free to cut your intake in half.

Decrease: If you decrease your blood pressure, your heart works less, and heart failure improves.

If: If you don't watch/limit your salt intake, you can develop heart failure easily.

Beta: Beta blocker + diuretic + ace inhibitor improves survival in congestive heart failure patients.

Magnesium: Magnesium prevents sudden death in heart failure. Take 400mg of mg oxide if ok with your doc!