Patient information
Heart failure: your medicines and daily checks
Heart failure means your heart isn't pumping as well as it should. It doesn't mean your heart has stopped. The right medicines and daily habits help you feel better, stay out of hospital and live longer.
My details
Name:
Type of heart failure:
My "dry" weight: kg
My heart failure nurse / team:
Your medicines
Most people take several medicines together, because each one protects the heart in a different way. They are usually started at a low dose and increased every few weeks – this is normal, and the higher doses give the most benefit.
- ACE inhibitor, ARB or sacubitril/valsartan – relax blood vessels and ease the strain on the heart.
- Beta-blocker – slows and strengthens the heartbeat. You may feel more tired for a few weeks after each increase.
- Spironolactone, eplerenone or finerenone – protect the heart muscle.
- Dapagliflozin or empagliflozin – protect the heart and kidneys. Keep your genital area clean and dry.
- Water tablet (diuretic) – removes extra fluid. The dose may go up or down depending on your weight and swelling.
- You will need regular blood tests to check your kidneys and potassium.
- Avoid anti-inflammatory painkillers such as ibuprofen, and salt substitutes like LoSalt. Check with a pharmacist before buying medicines.
Every day
- Weigh yourself each morning after using the toilet, before breakfast, in similar clothes, and write it down.
- Stay active – walking every day helps. Ask about cardiac rehabilitation.
- Don't add salt to food. You don't usually need to limit drinks unless your team tells you to.
- Stop smoking and keep alcohol within safe limits. Have your flu jab every year and the pneumonia vaccine once.
If you are unwell (sick days)
If you have vomiting, diarrhoea or a fever and can't eat or drink normally, ask your GP or pharmacist whether to pause some of your medicines (such as water tablets, ACE inhibitors, ARBs, spironolactone and SGLT2 inhibitors) until you are eating and drinking again.
Contact your GP or heart failure nurse the same day if
your weight goes up by 2 kg (4 lb) or more in 3 days; your ankles, legs or tummy swell more; you're more breathless than usual or need more pillows at night; or you feel dizzy or faint.
Call 999 if
you're severely breathless at rest, have chest pain that doesn't settle, cough up pink frothy phlegm, or collapse.
More help: British Heart Foundation: heart failure · Pumping Marvellous · NHS: heart failure