Heart failure is a difficult disease to treat. When the heart does not pump as well as it should the patient fills up with fluid. Patients can also help by not using too much salt, not drinking too much fluid, and limiting alcohol use. Most patients are now treated with medicines called ACE inhibitors. The ACE inhibitors help to reduce admissions to hospital and deaths from heart failure.
Digoxin is a medicine which helps the heart to beat stronger.
It is not used much nowadays unless the patient also has an irregular heartbeat. Medicines called beta blockers were once thought to be unsafe for patients with heart failure. New research has found that beta blockers may help some patients with more severe heart failure.