Her physician may ultimately recommend 30 to 45 minutes of aerobic exercise three to four times a week to help her feel better. Sodium causes fluid retention, and fat increases the risk of heart disease. Teach her to eat low-fat, unprocessed, unsalted foods, and encourage her to read labels. Cigarette smoking decreases circulating oxygen and constricts coronary arteries, decreasing the heart's oxygen supply. It also causes systemic vasoconstriction, which increases the heart's workload.
Alcohol depresses myocardial contractility in patients with cardiac disease.
A patient with HF who wants to continue drinking should limit consumption to 1 ounce of alcohol per day. Emotional stress can exacerbate HF signs and symptoms. A patient whose HF fails to respond adequately to drug therapy and behavior changes may benefit from surgery to correct malformations or improve blood flow to the heart. Cardiomyoplasty improves cardiac function. In this procedure, the surgeon wraps skeletal muscle around the failing heart to boost its pumping action.