First Questions to Ask Your Doctor After Being Diagnosed With Heart Failure.

About Nicole Pajer

Nicole Pajer is a Los Angeles-based freelance published in The New York Times, Woman's Day, AARP, Parade, Wired, Glamour, People and more.

Heart failure may be more common than you think. In the United States alone, it affects around 6.7 million people – and one in four people are expected to develop it at some point throughout their lifetime. Heart failure can be scary, but going into your doctor prepared to talk through what it means and how to work through it can help you to feel more in control.

When it comes to a diagnosis like heart failure, knowledge is power. Here are a few questions to ask your cardiologist so that you can walk away from your appointment fully understanding where you stand and are clear on what steps you need to take to help improve your health.

1. What is heart failure?

Heart failure occurs when the heart muscle ceases to be able to pump blood efficiently and is less able to supply the cells of the body with the oxygen and nutrient-rich blood that it needs. As a result, people diagnosed with this condition can experience a myriad of symptoms including:

Fatigue
Shortness of breath during daily activities
Difficulty breathing when lying down
Weight gain and swelling in the legs, feet, or stomach

2. Can I live with heart failure?

Heart failure is considered to be a chronic condition that if untreated, may worsen overtime and could potentially lead to death. Your life expectancy with heart failure depends on how serious your condition is. But many who seek out care early enough and follow the advice of their doctors are able to manage their symptoms and enjoy their lives.

3. What type of heart failure do I have?

“Although there are several types of heart failure, understanding what kind of heart failure you have been diagnosed with and what it is should be the first thing that a patient needs to understand,” says Weston C. Hickey, MD, a cardiologist at Houston Methodist Willowbrook Hospital. Understanding your specific diagnosis will help guide treatment.

Some forms of heart failure include:

Left-side heart failure: The left side of the heart must work without effectively pumping blood, which can lead to fluid buildup in the lungs. This can lead to shortness of breath and coughing.
Right-side heart failure: The right side of the heart isn’t effectively pumping blood into the lungs, which can lead to fluid build-up in the legs, organs, or belly.
Biventricular heart failure: This occurs when both sides of the heart are affected. It can cause symptoms of both left and right heart failure at the same time.

4. Why do I have heart failure?

Understanding what may have caused your condition can help you and your doctor get to the root of how to treat it. “There are many causes, but getting to the underlying cause of the problem is the most important first step in designing a treatment strategy and plan,” says Hickey. Things like diabetes, being a heavy drinker or having a sedentary lifestyle, for instance, can be factors that cause heart failure. You may be able to slow the progression or treat symptoms of the disease by making specific changes via medications, diet, and an exercise routine.

5. Is it possible to treat my heart failure? What’s the plan?

Understanding the plan often hinges upon the answer to question number two, says Hickey – why does a patient have heart failure in the first place? “This may involve the need for procedures to better understand the answers to the second question, but it will almost always involve adjusting a patient’s medications so that they can be put on a regimen that we know has the best opportunity to improve heart failure symptoms and outcomes,” he explains.

Common treatment options include prescription medications, such as beta-blockers, ACE inhibitors, or diuretics, and in some cases, surgical procedures. Lifestyle changes, like improving your diet, quitting smoking, reducing salt, increasing physical activity, getting more rest and managing stress may also be advised.

6. How often should I follow up?

Your doctor gave you a diagnosis and put together a treatment plan for you. Now what? Follow up appointments and regular monitoring are key to making sure that you are doing all that you can to prioritize your heart health. Ask your doctor how often you should have your heart checked out and what those appointments will look like. Will they run more tests? Talk through what you’re doing lifestyle wise? Check your levels and tweak your medications if necessary? Make sure to schedule follow ups while you are in the office so that you get them on your schedule.

7. How can I get support to deal with this condition?

A heart failure diagnosis can be incredibly overwhelming. And stress can significantly worsen your condition by increasing your heart rate, blood pressure and putting extra strain on already strained heart muscles. Thus, it’s important to find healthy ways to cope.

Reach out to friends or family members if you’re feeling blue and keep up with hobbies you enjoy. Take things one step at a time and celebrate your victories as you work towards living a more heart-healthy lifestyle, whether that’s swapping fast food for a home cooked meal or reaching your daily step goal for the day. Ask your doctor for information on support groups, search for one that you can join on social media and seek the help of a therapist if the load feels too heavy to manage on your own.

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