Recently Diagnosed With Heart Disease – Now What?

 
Although nearly 100 million Americans are living with some degree of coronary heart disease, that doesn’t make a diagnosis any less frightening. Considering that heart disease is the leading cause of death among Americans – nearly 600,000 deaths annually – there is an amount of alarm and confusion that might be expected.

But fear will not make you better. In fact, it might make your condition worse by releasing hormones that can damage your immune system and other vital bodily functions.

With so many new things happening in your life upon diagnosis, here is a list of things to consider to help you lead a healthier life:

Recognize the symptoms

If your symptoms become more frequent or more severe, call your doctor to make an appointment. If you feel you are experiencing a heart-related emergency, don’t wait – call 911 immediately.

Take your medication

Your doctor prescribed heart medications, and any other medicines, to help control your condition. These will help with your symptoms and help your heart work more efficiently. Follow your doctor’s instructions and consult with them if you have any questions.

See your doctor

Remember to schedule regular appointments to meet with your primary care physician and other specialists. Depending on the severity of your condition, your doctor may schedule them once per year, or more frequently. What the duration, it’s best to go to each appointment or test.

Reduce your risk factor

Conditions such as high blood pressure or high cholesterol, or being overweight can worsen your heart condition.  Collaborate with your doctor to diminish any more risk. Most of these will have to do with lifestyle changes. Quitting smoking, eating a better diet and exercising more will help with your conditions.  They might not be easy changes, but they are necessary to help you stay healthy.

Here are some suggestions to help you reduce your risk factors by changing your lifestyle:

• Create a plan before starting any changes
• Make sure your goals are realistic
• Ask your doctor if these goals will affect your treatment
• Write out a formal or informal contract with yourself to strengthen your commitment to change
• Try to work on only one lifestyle change at a time
• Prepare for lapses
• Don’t be too hard on yourself if you lapse. Just keep moving forward.
• Reward yourself when you do well – but make sure it’s a healthy one.
• Engage your family and friends with your health goals.
• If you need even more help, seek out a support group.
• When you need more advice, consult your physician immediately.

While coronary heart disease is serious, you can help improve your health by playing an active role in your condition management. Through a combination of support, medications and lifestyle changes, you can live a happier and longer life.

Sources

http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/CongenitalHeartDefects/TheImpactofCongenitalHeartDefects/Congestive-Heart-Failure_UCM_307111_Article.jsp

http://www.baylorhearthospital.com/Living-with-Heart-Failure.html

http://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/facts.htm

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