Heart Failure Prevention and Treatment
 Dressing ourselves, walking to the mailbox, climbing a flight of stairs: So much depends on our heart’s ability to continuously pump blood through our body. If you have heart failure, it can be hard, sometimes impossible, to manage these everyday activities.
The Good Health Center at MedStar Good Samaritan Hospital specializes in heart failure prevention, with experts who work closely with you to reduce risk factors. If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with heart failure, our center offers comprehensive treatment that includes medication, nutrition counseling and structured exercise programs.
Preventive Programs
The Good Health Center staff includes fitness specialists, a registered nurse, a nutritionist, a diabetes educator and an endocrinologist with experience in weight management. Our full range of fitness equipment includes treadmills, exercise bikes, strength-training equipment, free weights and a walking track. Additional services include programs to help you stop smoking and manage stress, massage therapy and yoga classes.
And, we offer cholesterol, blood pressure and diabetes screenings to help you better understand your risk for heart failure — and what you can do about it today.
Expert Treatment
Our staff is extremely caring and well trained. We have many years of experience in preventing and treating heart failure with individualized programs designed by a multidisciplinary team.
Treatment focuses on addressing the underlying conditions associated with heart failure — such as coronary artery disease, high blood pressure and diabetes. Your physician may prescribe medicines and suggest these lifestyle changes, which also help prevent heart failure:
- Eat a balanced diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables. Avoid excess salt, saturated fats and foods high in trans fatty acids, which raise blood cholesterol.
- Aim for at least 30 minutes of exercise on most days of the week. If your schedule makes this difficult, break it up into short sessions throughout the day.
- Work with your doctor to control blood pressure.
- Quit smoking.
- Drink alcohol only in moderation.
Continue reading: Get A Good Heart Diagnosis
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