Even with treatment, heart failure is a serious disease. It usually means a somewhat shortened life span. However, the proper mix of medicines, reduced salt in your diet, and reduced physical activity will greatly improve your symptoms. Proper treatment can usually allow you to return to relatively normal living.  The disease that caused your heart failure will continue to need close medical attention.

Learn to live within the limits of your condition. Get enough rest, shorten your working hours if possible, and try to reduce the stress in your life. Anxiety and anger can increase your heart rate and blood pressure. If you need help with this, ask your doctor.  Check your heart rate daily. Learn how to take your own blood pressure or have a family member learn how to take it.  Accept the fact that you will need to take medicines for your heart and limit the salt in your diet for the rest of your life. Be careful with salt substitutes, however. Many contain high levels of potassium. Some of the medicines used to treat heart failure raise the levels of potassium in your blood. Salt substitutes may raise the potassium levels too high.  Develop a way to make sure that you take your medicines on time.  Weigh yourself at least every other day, at the same time of day if possible. Contact your doctor if you gain more than 3 pounds in 1 week, or if you keep gaining weight over weeks to months. Weight gain may mean your body is having trouble getting rid of extra fluid.  Know the symptoms of potassium loss, which include muscle cramps, muscle weakness, irritability, and sometimes irregular heartbeat.  Follow your doctor's advice on how much fluid you should drink.  Try not to eat or drink too much.  Monitor your activities to make sure that they do not cause you to become too tired or short of breath.  Avoid extremes of hot and cold that may cause your heart to work harder and keep regular medical appointments.