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Heart Failure: When to Call for Help

When you have heart failure, it is important to know when to call for help. Treatment will be needed to stop symptoms from getting worse. Early care can help stop major problems and decrease recovery time.

Read on to learn when to call your care team and when to call for emergency help. The earlier you call, the more likely that the help you get can result in better outcomes.

Signs That You Need to Call Your Care Team

Call your care team right away if you have:

These signs may mean that your medicines need to be changed to ones that are more helpful for you. The only way this can happen is if you call your care team.

Signs That You Need to Call for Emergency Help

Call for emergency care right away if you have:

You need medical care right way if you have these signs.

Stay in Touch with Your Care Team

Your goal should be to lower the risk of more damage. The earlier you tell your care team about any problems you are having, the more they can work with you to prevent future damage.

RESOURCES:

American Heart Association
http://www.heart.org

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
http://www.cdc.gov

CANADIAN RESOURCES:

Health Canada
https://www.canada.ca

Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada
http://www.heartandstroke.ca

REFERENCES:

Heart failure with reduced ejection fraction. EBSCO DynaMed website. Available at:https://www.dynamed.com/topics/dmp~AN~T114099/Heart-failure-with-reduced-ejection-fraction. Updated May 16, 2019. Accessed May 21, 2019.

Self-check plan for heart failure management. American Heart Association website. Available at: https://www.heart.org/-/media/files/health-topics/heart-failure/self-check-plan-for-hf-management-. Accessed May 21, 2019.

Last reviewed May 2019 by EBSCO Medical Review Board