Nursing Teaching on Managing Daily Life with Heart Failure

Nurse educated the patient and caregiver on how to manage everyday life with heart failure as follows:

1. The most important thing to keep a watch with heart failure is signs and symptoms of fluid retention.
2. Check for any signs of edema, especially bilateral pedal edema. Report any unresolving edema to your doctor promptly.
3. Check for any deteriorating shortness of breath, which needs to be reported.
4. Take a weight reading every day and maintain a log of the same. Report any weight gain beyond 5 pounds in a week. This could be due to progressively increasing fluid backup.
5. Maintain compliance with taking a blood pressure reading every day along with the heart rate and maintain a log of the readings, which gives an opportunity for your doctor to have an easy follow-up and adjust the medications, if need be.
6. Maintain compliance with the limitations placed on daily fluid intake, if you were recommended any.
7. Observe strict compliance with recommendations made for heart healthy diet.