Heart failure is a syndrome that presents a series of symptoms and signs of systemic blood circulation disorders due to weakened myocardial contraction, reduced cardiac blood output, obstructed venous return and insufficient blood supply to the arterial system. Early heart failure is often the failure of one side of the heart, so it can be divided into left heart failure and right heart failure, as well as the development of late total heart failure. The main clinical manifestations of left heart failure are fatigue, dyspnea, and the need to sleep at night with an elevated pillow, otherwise one feels suffocated, or even wakes up suddenly when sleeping. The most common symptoms of right heart failure are right upper abdominal fullness, constipation, loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting, increased or decreased nocturnal urination, and swelling of both lower extremities. The clinical symptoms of total heart failure are a combination of left and right heart failure. Causes of disease In the past, people have believed that the heart does not starve and is malnourished, and this misconception has continued for almost a century. The fact is that the heart, like other organs, will develop fibrosis, weakness and atrophy without adequate nutritional supply. Heart failure is often secondary to other diseases and is often overshadowed by other problems, such as the disease itself and the treatment of central nervous system dysfunction, which do not draw attention to the heart and lead to varying degrees of nutritional deficiencies that induce heart failure. Dietary modifications 1. Restrict sodium intake: choose a low-salt, salt-free, or low-sodium diet to prevent and reduce edema. Low-salt diet means the daily intake of salt is less than 2 grams, and the salt content of main and side dishes throughout the day should be less than 1400 mg. Salt-free diet means cooking without adding salt and soy sauce, and the salt content of main and side dishes should be less than 600 mg throughout the day. Low-sodium diet, in addition to cooking without adding salt and soy sauce, should contain less than 500 mg of sodium in main and side dishes throughout the day. When taking a large amount of diuretics, the salt intake can be increased appropriately. 2, a small number of meals, should not be too full: should be a small number of meals, 5 to 6 meals per day, to avoid overfilling the gastrointestinal overfilling, increasing the burden on the heart, inducing arrhythmia or angina and other adverse consequences. 3, moderate supply of fat: fat calorie high, affect digestion, stay in the stomach for a long time, making their stomach full and uncomfortable. Excess fat will also inhibit the secretion of gastric acid, affecting its digestion. Obese people have too much fat in the abdomen, the septum rises and presses the heart to make the chest feel stuffy and uncomfortable, so obese people should control the intake of fat more. 4, moderate intake of protein: the total amount of 50 to 75 grams throughout the day, heart failure is more serious, it is appropriate to 0.8 g/kg of protein intake per day according to body weight. Because the special power of protein food is high, may increase the metabolic rate of the body, affect the recovery of heart failure, should be limited to varying degrees of protein intake. 5, supplement rich in vitamins and minerals: eat more fresh vegetables, hawthorn, pears, bananas, strawberries, oranges, etc., to replenish enough vitamins to protect the function of the heart muscle and enhance the body’s resistance. Pay attention to the supplementation of potassium and magnesium, because of chronic heart failure, when using potassium-removing diuretics and digitalis drugs, it will cause gastrointestinal stasis and loss of appetite. Potassium salt intake is reduced, so you should choose foods that contain more potassium, such as Sichuan winter vegetables, purple cabbage, dried mushrooms, water chestnuts, red dates, and cereals and other foods rich in potassium. Dietary contraindications 1, buns, bread and cookies made with soda, baking powder, alkali, etc. 2, meat loaf, sausage, salted fish, pickled vegetables, ham, curd and other pickled products. 3, various sodium-containing beverages and condiments such as soft drinks, MSG, ketchup, beer, etc. 4, hanging noodles, seafood, cream, pork kidney, cheese, puffed eggs, dried beans, etc. 5, candy, chocolate, raisins, nuts, etc. 6.Vegetables with high sodium content are celery, green radish, rape, chrysanthemum and melon and eggplant. 7, forbidden to eat irritating, gas-producing food, such as strong tea, wine, garlic, onions, fish soup thick juice, etc., so as not to stimulate the heart and induce heart failure. 8, forbidden to eat food rich in sodium.