[Committee member’s popular science] Tips for water control at home for patients with heart failure

In clinical practice, we often say that water control for patients with heart failure is a protracted Battle of Shangganling. In order to achieve good results, the following weapons are indispensable.

01

Prepare a cup with a scale. Make a good allocation of daily water intake. When you are discharged from the hospital, your doctor will give you instructions on the daily water intake. Please arrange it reasonably according to the time of morning, noon and evening. Don't start drinking a lot in the morning just because you are thirsty, otherwise you will easily drink too much today. A large cup is difficult to control. You can prepare a small cup of about 30 ml and drink a small amount in several times. You can also add a few slices of lemon to the water. The appropriate acid can activate saliva secretion to relieve your thirst.

02

Pay special attention to the water content of your diet

If your diet is mainly liquid or semi-liquid food, such as porridge, soup, paste, etc., which contains a lot of water, or if you like to eat fruits, please make reasonable arrangements. Please check the food water content table for reference.

03

Low-salt diet

The daily salt intake should not exceed 5 grams. At the same time, we should also be wary of hidden salt, such as chicken essence, monosodium glutamate and various processed foods; diabetic patients should control their blood sugar and avoid the symptoms of thirst caused by high blood sugar.

04

Scales

The weight scale is recognized as one of the simplest, cheapest, but most effective ways to manage heart failure. In clinical practice, some patients are often admitted to the hospital due to edema. Daily weight monitoring can prevent problems from happening. In the early stages of weight gain, we can quickly detect problems.

When measuring your weight, please note:

Daily monitoring;

Fixed time: It is best to measure in the morning after emptying your bowels and bladder, wearing roughly the same clothes, so that the dry weight can be easily compared;

If you find that your weight is >0.5-1.5kg a day or your cumulative weight gain is more than 2.0kg in three days, you should pay attention to it and consult a doctor in time to decide whether to use diuretics.

Source: Zhongkang Cardiac Rehabilitation Official Account

Expert Recommendation

Wang Guodong

Director of the Department of Cardiology, Beijing Boai Hospital, China Rehabilitation Research Center

Vice Chairman of the Geriatric Rehabilitation Branch of the Chinese Geriatric Health Medicine Research Association, Expert Member of the Popular Science Health Education Working Committee of the Chinese Medical Education Association, Standing Member of the Cardiovascular Rehabilitation Committee of the China Association for the Promotion of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Member of the Cardiovascular Disease Professional Committee of the Chinese Rehabilitation Medicine Association, Director of the Cardiac Rehabilitation Professional Committee of the World Federation of Chinese Medicine Societies, Youth Committee Member of the Cardiovascular Disease Branch of the Beijing Medical Association, Member of the Department of Cardiology of Capital Medical University, etc.

He has been engaged in cardiovascular clinical work for 25 years and is good at coronary heart disease intervention diagnosis and treatment, cardiovascular critical care rescue and cardiac rehabilitation. He has been engaged in coronary artery intervention for 17 years and has helped nearly 20 hospitals in China to carry out coronary artery intervention diagnosis and treatment. He has been engaged in cardiac rehabilitation for more than 10 years. In recent years, he has mainly been engaged in the integration of coronary heart disease intervention treatment and rehabilitation and heart-brain joint rehabilitation. He has participated in the compilation of related monographs: "Guidelines for Cardiac Rehabilitation and Secondary Prevention in China", "Rehabilitation of Internal and External Diseases", "Guidelines for Rehabilitation Services for the Elderly", "Practical Rehabilitation Nursing", "Drug Therapy Case Manual", "Cardiac Rehabilitation Practice Operation Manual", etc.