CHF
Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) is a chronic condition where body fluids are not cycled through the bloodstream due to failure of the heart muscles. Home health care can frequently be used to monitor and manage the disease with the goal of preventing or shortening hospital stays associated with symptoms.
Program Goals
- Decreased disease progression and need for hospitalization
- Increased quality of life
- Improved understanding of the disease processes of CHF and recognition of early symptoms to avoid re-hospitalization
- Improved understanding of healthy low-sodium food choices
- Training to strengthen muscles, avoid falls and improve endurance
- Improve medication understanding and compliance
Treatment
- Education on the importance of daily weight measurement (provide patient-friendly weight tracker and Waypoint scale when not already present in the home)
- Education on recognizing symptoms such as chest pain, swelling in the ankles, feet and legs, shortness of breath with activity or while lying flat, sudden unexpected weight gain, frothy cough that produces white or pink tinged mucus, fatigue, dizziness and lack of appetite
- Education on medication understanding and importance of taking diuretics, beta blockers, ACE inhibitors and anti-hypertensives
- Education on low-sodium diet and fluid control if fluid restriction
