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Responding To Treatment
- Keeping stable
- Worsening symptoms of heart failure
- If you don't respond well to treatment
- Death & dying
Keeping stable
In heart failure, the fine–tuning, or balance, of taking different drugs is often necessary to achieve the best possible function of the heart and relieve symptoms. Often a small adjustment can make all the difference.
Some people, when they start to feel the benefit from their drug treatment, think they don't need the drugs anymore when in fact it is the drugs that have stabilised their condition.
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Worsening symptoms of heart failure
Sometimes your condition can suddenly deteriorate, without any apparent cause, to such an extent that admission to hospital is vital and emergency treatment is needed.
This is what you are trying to avoid by reporting any changes or deterioration in symptoms to your nurse or doctor. Sudden worsening of symptoms including increased feet or ankle swelling, new palpitations and breathlessness, should always be reported as soon as possible to your nurse or doctor.
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If you don't respond well to treatment
Heart failure is a chronic condition and episodes of worsening symptoms may not always respond well to treatment. Consideration of other options may be discussed, such as a heart transplant or use of devices such pacemakers or defibrillators.
Death & dying
Some people may die of their heart failure. Sometimes people may die suddenly without any warning; this is very difficult to predict or prepare for.
It may be that the degree of heart failure advances to the point where worsening symptoms no longer respond to conventional treatment, complications arise and recurrent hospital admissions are unavoidable. In this situation the doctor or heart failure nurse may consider a referral to the palliative care team for further specialist advice. This would be discussed with you and your family.
Palliative Care Services are generally known for caring for patients with cancer but they also provide support for other conditions such as heart failure. Their expertise will ensure you are getting the best possible care.
For more information about all aspects of palliative care see NHS inform's Palliative Care Zone.
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