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The goals of treatment are to:
- Treat the underlying cause of your heart failure
- Improve your symptoms and quality of life
- Stop your heart failure from getting worse.
- Prolong your life span
Your doctor will continue to treat the underlying diseases or conditions (such as CAD, high blood pressure, or diabetes) that caused heart failure. The treatment for heart failure includes:
- Lifestyle changes
- Medications
- Specialized care for those in the most advanced stage.
Lifestyle Changes
There are things that you can do to help with your treatment. Your doctor will recommend that you:
- Follow a diet low in salt. Salt can cause extra fluid to build up in your body making your heart failure worse.
- Limit the amount of fluids that you drink.
- Weigh yourself every day and let your doctor know right away if you have a sudden weight gain. This could mean you have extra fluid building up in your body.
- Exercise as directed to help build up your fitness level and ability to be more active.
Your doctor will also tell you to:
- Lose weight if you are overweight
- Quit smoking if you smoke
- Limit the amount of alcohol that you drink.
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