Many patients with chronic heart failure, because they do not know how to take care of themselves, are repeatedly hospitalized due to chest tightness, breathlessness and other symptoms of heart failure, which not only cause pain and even loss of life, but also add a heavy burden to their families. Patients with heart failure often die from two causes: one is sudden death due to severe arrhythmias; the other is death due to multiple organ failure occurring in heart failure. Proper treatment and preventive measures can greatly reduce the occurrence of these two conditions. The treatment of heart failure due to different etiologies varies. The following are some common points in home self-care: Activity Patients with chronic heart failure are advised to do some moderate exercise. The amount of exercise should be such that it does not cause significant chest tightness or breath-holding symptoms. The best way is to walk. In daily life, it is important to maintain a slow pace of life and a calm mind. Some female heart failure patients, often because of the rush to get the little work at hand (such as laundry, cleaning) done and lead to an acute attack of heart failure, the loss is not worth it; mood swings, anxiety, anger are triggering factors for heart failure aggravation. Avoid infection Infection is a very important precipitating factor for heart failure exacerbation, especially respiratory tract infection. Because heart failure patients often have pulmonary stasis, they are especially prone to respiratory infections; and once infected, they are especially prone to heart failure attacks because of increased hypoxia and heart burden. Therefore, heart failure patients must pay attention to keep warm, and once there are signs of upper sensation, it is important to treat them promptly. Diet Many heart failure patients inexplicably experience an exacerbation of heart failure and have to be hospitalized, and the culprit is that the amount of fluid intake is greater than output. Fluid control is the most important step in the treatment of heart failure, but it is often overlooked. Patients with severe heart failure should not exceed 1500 ml of fluid and less than 3 g of salt per day, and the best way to do this is to weigh yourself daily. If you gain several kilograms of weight in a few days, you are close to a heart failure attack. A normal heart pumps excess water into the kidneys and excretes it in the form of urine; however, a failing heart is burdened with an increased amount of fluid, and the pumping function is reduced, so the kidneys cannot be effectively perfused and urine excretion is reduced. After the excess fluid overflows outside the blood vessels, edema is produced. Edema compresses the microcirculation and increases vascular resistance, which in turn increases the burden on the heart. Therefore, it is very important to control the amount of fluid, but it is also very important to learn to excrete the excess fluid in a timely manner, which requires learning the application of diuretics. Diuretics Commonly used diuretics include furosemide (tachyphylaxis tablets), hydrochlorothiazide and spironolactone, the first two being potassium-removal diuretics and the latter being potassium-preserving diuretics. In fact, spironolactone is more useful as an aldosterone receptor antagonist, inhibiting aldosterone-induced sodium and water retention and potassium excretion, as well as aldosterone-induced myocardial fibrosis. The diuretic effect of diuretics increases with dose, and the combination is more effective than the single agent. The vast majority of patients see increased swelling in both lower extremities or increased shortness of breath, but are unable to increase urine and are unable to do anything until they are readmitted with intolerable symptoms. Avoiding this is simple: increase the dose of the diuretic promptly during the first days of weight gain. For example, the maintenance dose of furosemide, usually 1 tablet a day, can be increased to 2 or 3 tablets twice a day, and can be combined with hydrochlorothiazide. Increasing the dose of spironolactone to a maximum of 2 tablets a day is not recommended. Increasing the dose of spironolactone does not increase the diuretic effect, but only the side effects. It is important to take potassium supplements after increasing the diuretic dose. Low potassium is a very important cause of arrhythmogenic sudden death in patients with heart failure. To avoid the development of diuretic resistance, it is recommended to rotate furosemide and hydrochlorothiazide every half month. Beta-blockers This is an important drug that can delay or even reverse certain systolic insufficiencies in heart failure (e.g. peri-invasive cardiomyopathy, alcoholic cardiomyopathy, dilated cardiomyopathy, ischemic cardiomyopathy, etc.). Commonly used drugs are metoprolol, bisoprolol and carvedilol. It is very crucial for these drugs to achieve the above mentioned miraculous effects, and it is essential to use the maximum tolerated dose. Most heart failure patients are unable to do this because few doctors are patient enough to show them how to do it step by step. Specifically, start with the smallest dose and increase it every two weeks until the resting heart rate drops to 55 beats per minute while awake or the blood pressure drops to 90/60 mm Hg. For example, betalactam, start at 6.25 mg once a day and go up to 100 mg twice a day. Patients who can use the full dose have a good prognosis. Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI)/angiotensin receptor antagonists (ARB) Commonly used drugs include: benazepril, perindopril, captopril, valsartan, irbesartan, and cloxacin. Like β-blockers, these drugs can improve the prognosis of patients with systolic insufficiency, and also require starting with small doses and gradually increasing them to the maximum tolerated dose. It is best to avoid simultaneous increases with beta-blockers to avoid hypotension during dose increases. A commonly used drug is digoxin. Although it does not improve the prognosis of patients with heart failure, it can significantly improve the symptoms of heart failure patients with systolic insufficiency, especially those with rapid atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter or sinus tachycardia. The maintenance dose is 0.125mg-0.25mg/day. The beta-blockers, ACEI/ARB, and cardiac stimulants mentioned above are mainly used for heart failure due to systolic insufficiency. For other causes of heart failure, the treatment varies. For example, ACEI/ARB is contraindicated in patients with mitral stenosis, unless accompanied by rapid atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter; ACEI/ARB and β-blockers are contraindicated in patients with aortic stenosis; and control and stabilization of blood pressure is most important in patients with hypertension. Heart failure is a very complex syndrome and the treatment is very complicated, and new techniques are constantly emerging. However, if the above points are mastered, the number of hospital readmissions can be greatly reduced and life expectancy extended.