Follow guidelines to standardize heart failure treatment

 There are still many clinicians who believe that the prognosis of congestive heart failure (CHF) is comparable to that of malignant tumors, and that once diagnosed, life will enter a countdown. Chen Bojun, a specialist in cardiovascular disease at the Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, has shown that by strictly following the guidelines for the pharmacological treatment of patients with CHF, the death rate of patients can be significantly reduced. In most patients, cardiac function improves significantly, and in some patients, cardiac structure returns to normal. There are 2 difficulties in the benefit of heart failure treatment: (1) the prognosis of heart failure patients is not straightforward, including when to start ACEI/ARB and β-blockers; and (2) how to gradually increase the dose to the target dose or maximum tolerated dose of the drug needs to be different from individual to individual.    When applying ACEI/ARB and β-blockers, it is important to note: ① Patients with decompensation should be given only after water and sodium retention are controlled and stabilized; ② Start with small or even very small doses and gradually increase the dose; ③ Patients need to be reviewed several times; ④ Patients should reach dry weight before applying β-blockers and maintain dry weight during the application of β-blockers; ⑤ Patients should be followed up and adhered to take drugs to improve prognosis, avoid relapse, do not reduce the dosage without authorization, withdraw the drugs, ensure the supply of drugs, good doctor-patient relationship and high patient compliance are the basis to ensure good treatment results.    In addition, it is strongly recommended that all hospitalized patients with heart failure and their health care providers develop written comprehensive discharge instructions and pay attention to the following aspects in the medical process: ① diet and post-discharge medication must be concerned with compliance and persistence; ② medication dose up to the recommended dose; ③ patients maintain a certain level of activity, regular follow-up, and daily weight measurement; ④ inform patients what to do when symptoms worsen.                                                                                                                                                                          Repost