<s>[INST] What are some of the most common heart failure treatment options? [/INST] In addition to other personalized treatments, managing heart failure almost always involves adjustments to your lifestyle. Regular exercise according to your activity level will be key. Making changes to your diet to restrict your salt intake is also likely, as is cutting out tobacco and alcohol use. Weighing yourself every day also becomes crucial – sudden changes in weight can indicate fluid buildup in your body that needs a doctor’s attention.

After lifestyle changes, medication is typically the next line of treatment. Diuretics are often used because they help flush excess fluid from the body. Depending on what kind of heart failure you have, we may prescribe medications such as ACE inhibitors, ARBs, spironolactone and heart-failure-specific beta blockers to help control symptoms by reducing heart strain.

If additional therapies are needed, we might move onto cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) and/or use a device called an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD). These help reduce heart failure symptoms by pacing your heart correctly and preventing sudden death. If you’ve had previous hospital admissions for heart failure, we may also use a CardioMEMS device to help monitor you for fluid retention and proactively adjust medication doses.

You may also benefit from other interventions directed toward your heart failure. When this is the case, cardiac rehabilitation is often used to help you recover more quickly and manage the lingering risk of heart failure.

These treatments have been shown to effectively manage symptoms and improve heart failure outcomes. If you ever have questions about your treatment plan or how to follow it, talk to your cardiologist so we can make sure you’re getting the best guidance. Source: HEALTH PARTNERS. Link: https://www.healthpartners.com/blog/ask-a-cardiologist-answering-critical-questions-about-heart-failure/. Field: Cardiovascular. Disease: Heart Failure </s>