[Quick info] Heart failure

How patient presents at hospital

• Patients will have a hard time breathing, especially with exertion or movement and activities such as going up stairs, walking, exercising ect. They can also notice increased weight gain in the past week or month and can also have leg swelling or abdominal swelling.
• They can have leg swelling from too much fluid in their body which can cause them to have pitting edema. Pitting edema can be seen when you press on the leg, and the indentation in your leg doesn’t go away for a couple of seconds. Typically, the worse the condition, the longer the indentation will stay
• Abdominal bloating or fullness can also occur and the abdomen can be very distended or feel full. Sometimes this can also be from cirrhosis which is a damaged liver, commonly seen in those who drink a lot of alcohol.

Things to do for patient

• Will most likely get echo (ultrasound of the heart) – check ejection fraction and other functions of the heart
• Will get diuretics such as Lasix or Bumex which will cause them to urinate a lot
• Check daily in’s and out’s (fluid intake and urine output)
• Check daily weights (to see if they are losing or gaining more fluid weight)
• Counsel patient on watching how much they drink fluids and decrease salt intake in their diet at home