Tuesday 17 August 2010

Live chat with nurse Judy

Lorraine asks: "Good Morning Judy, I have a heart failure condition as a result of a heart attack 5 years ago. The thing that gets me down the most is the tiredness. I do work through it as best I can but wondered if you had any other tips or if there is anything herbal i can take to help with it. Thank you."

Judy says:

I am sorry to read that you are exhausted because of your heart failure. It is not uncommon with people with it to feel good some days, and very exhausted on others. The trick is to try and pace yourself so that you do the same amount of exertion every day, rather than over doing it on days where you feel good, which then makes you feel wreaked for days afterwards. It is also good to keep in close contact with your GP or heart failure nurse who can tweak your medications regularly so that they work best for you.

We give tips like these in our booklet; "An everyday guide to living with heart failure" which includes a pull out personal medical record.

Lots of people ask us about herbal remedies but there are none that are proven to be effective in treating heart failure. Many herbal remedies interfere with medications for the heart so be careful about taking a combination of the two. It would be worth talking to your pharmacist before taking any herbal or natural remedies.

I hope that your symptoms will improve soon and that you can enjoy a better quality of life.

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