Patient/caregiver was educated upon findings to watch for and report in individuals with history of congestive heart failure as follows:
- Arrhythmia: Damaged heart muscle, secondary to poor blood and oxygen supply, can lead to increased palpitations and worsening arrhythmias, with fluttering, chest pain, and discomfort. Keep a close watch and report to your physician regarding any signs and symptoms of worsening arrhythmia, such as, fluttering in the chest, racing or abnormally slow heartbeat, poorly felt pulse, dizziness, any episodes of loss of consciousness, chest pain and/or discomfort, and fainting.
- Increasing confusion and dizziness: Reduced blood supply to end organ, brain, can result in increased confusion and frequency of dizzy episodes, thus contributing to falls and accidents. Report to your physician regarding any acute increase in confusion and dizziness, with any occurrence of falls and accidents.
- Compromised renal function: Progressively reduced blood supply to the kidneys in individuals with heart failure can result in deterioration of renal function, diminished urine output, increased fluid and waste retention, and renal failure. Diminished urine output with increased fluid retention can result in acute weight gain and increased load on already failing heart, which can further complicate the outcome. Try peeing into an urinal periodically, for a 24-hour interval. Calculate and keep a record of total volume of urine emptied in a 24-hour interval. Report to your physician regarding any progressively decreasing volume of urine output. Also, increased retention of wastes can result in increased confusion and disorientation, which must be reported to the physician.
