The heart beats by contraction of the heart muscle, and every time the heart beats, it ejects blood from the heart to the whole body through the blood vessels. As the name implies, heart failure means that the heart function is extremely weakened and cannot pump enough blood to meet the needs of the body. If not rescued in time, it can be life-threatening. Causes of heart failure Besides diseases of the heart itself, such as coronary heart disease, hypertension, wind heart disease, cardiomyopathy, congenital heart disease, etc., diseases outside the heart, such as acute nephritis, toxic pneumonia, severe anemia, hemolysis, massive intravenous rehydration and complications after surgery, can also cause heart failure. Heart failure is divided into right heart failure and left heart failure. The typical clinical manifestations of right heart failure are mainly stasis in the body circulation, with shortness of breath, jugular vein anger, liver enlargement, and generalized swelling. Left heart failure is dominated by stasis in the pulmonary circulation, with dilatation of the left atrium and pulmonary veins, manifested by dyspnea, dry cough, pulmonary rales and croup, a fast and weak heart rhythm, and a weak or even imperceptible pulse. In chronic heart failure, pale skin, excessive sweating, cold extremities, bruising in severe cases, fatigue, progressive enlargement of the liver, and pressure pain may be present. Whether it is right heart failure, left heart failure, total heart failure, or chronic heart failure, once it occurs, it is important to hurry up and rush to the hospital for treatment, otherwise, it can be life-threatening. Patients and their families should take the initiative to understand some early manifestations of heart failure in order to take appropriate measures as early as possible. 1. Decreased physical strength Patients feel very tired, lazy and reluctant to move around, which cannot be relieved by rest. It is also often accompanied by symptoms such as distention and fullness of the stomach and abdomen, lack of food and drink, sleeplessness, and being awakened by nightmares. 2. Swelling of the whole body Patients have reduced urine output and swelling, usually starting from the ankles and gradually spreading to the whole body from the bottom up. 3. Palpitations and chest tightness Patients often feel uncomfortable in the heart, chest tightness, irregular heartbeat, increased pulse rate, and shortness of breath when going upstairs or slightly moving. 4. Coughing and shortness of breath Especially when sleeping, coughing and shortness of breath cannot lie down and must be slowly calmed down by sitting up or putting up a pillow. If the condition progresses further, it will develop into pulmonary edema and the patient will spit foamy sputum or pink sputum, and the situation will be more dangerous. After the heart failure patient is discharged from the hospital, home care is very important. The following aspects need to be noted: 1, reasonable rest In addition to lunch break, it is advisable to add several hours of bed rest in the afternoon. Patients with acute and severe heart failure should rest in bed. When the heart function improves, they should get out of bed and perform appropriate activities, such as walking, but they should control the amount of activity. When the pulse is greater than 110 times/minute or when they feel panic, shortness of breath and the feeling of different beats, they should stop the activity and rest. 2, reduce the causes of exertion, infection is a common cause of heart failure, for chronic heart failure patients, no matter what kind of infection, should be early application of adequate antibiotics. When a frail patient has an infection, the body temperature may not be high, but may only be manifested as lethargy, drowsiness, loss of appetite, etc., which should be observed. Reduce exertion factors and keep bowel movements unobstructed. 3, psychological care chronic heart failure patients, should maintain a calm state of mind, do not seek to worry about themselves. Do not rely too much on others in life, but do not try to be strong either. For their own condition, they should pay attention to, but do not pay too much attention, so as not to induce acute heart failure due to excessive tension. 4, adjust the diet The principle is low sodium (salt), low calorie, light and easy to digest, pay attention to the intake of sufficient carbohydrates, sufficient vitamins, inorganic salt, moderate fat, and should quit smoking and alcohol, it is best to eat less and more meals, to avoid aggravating or inducing heart failure due to full meals. 5, adhere to the treatment to strictly follow the doctor’s instructions, do not stop or change drugs without authorization, so as not to cause serious adverse consequences; be familiar with the toxic side effects of commonly used drugs, in order to facilitate early detection and treatment. 6, regular review including electrocardiogram, cardiac function measurement, weight and edema, but also pay attention to regular blood sampling review digoxin concentration and blood potassium, sodium, magnesium, as well as urea nitrogen, creatinine, etc., if abnormalities are found, to seek timely medical attention. Heart failure patients need to take long-term medication, various drugs must pay strict attention to dosage, now on heart failure patients commonly used drugs for a note: 1, digoxin: digitalis class cardiac drugs, overdose will appear digitalis poisoning, so every morning before taking must count heart rate, digitalis poisoning often appear heart rate slowed, nausea and vomiting, yellow and green vision. 2, diuretics: these drugs reduce fluid retention and improve symptoms in heart failure patients by increasing urine volume. The application of diuretics, the need to record the daily amount of fluid in and out, the best out more than the amount of intake, monitor the weight change, usually to reduce 0.5-1kg per day is appropriate. Diuretics should be combined with dietary salt control (less than 3g/day) in order to achieve more satisfactory results. The use of diuretics should should pay attention to prevent the loss of electrolytes (potassium and magnesium), to regularly recheck electrolytes is, usually can eat more potassium-rich food, such as orange juice, bananas, etc., intermittent supplementation of magnesium, such as Pennant Gold, MgSO4, etc. 3, ACEI: the side effects of such drugs are: symptomatic hypotension, irritating dry cough without sputum, angioneurotic edema, etc.. Application of ACEI should be regularly checked renal function, if the blood creatinine (Cr) 〉 2.5mg/dl (225 mmol /l), or the above-mentioned adverse reactions, should promptly seek medical advice to discontinue the drug. 4, beta blockers: these drugs must be taken strictly in accordance with medical advice from a small dose, tolerated and then gradually increase the amount, according to blood pressure, heart rate adjustment dosage, if overdose will cause heart failure aggravated. Patients with bronchospastic disease, bradycardia, second-degree atrioventricular block (unless a pacemaker has been installed) do not use or prohibit these drugs. 5, aspirin: anti-platelet aggregation, improve blood viscosity, atrial fibrillation, heart cavity enlargement patients need to take. This drug has an irritating effect on the gastric mucosa, so it is best not to take it on an empty stomach, should be taken after meals, pay attention to stomach pain, acid reflux symptoms, and stool color, regular re-check stool occult blood.