Living with Heart Failure and Managing Advanced HF

Quick Facts

You can improve your heart failure symptoms with new healthy habits.
Ask your health care team and loved ones for support.
Pay attention to your emotional needs as well as your physical symptoms.

After the heart failure diagnosis

It can be difficult living with a long-term condition such as heart failure. Yet many people learn to manage the symptoms and continue to lead fulfilling lives.

People who report greater improvement and emotional well-being often build new habits around:

Eating better
Tracking and managing symptoms
Exercising (as directed by their health care team)

Monitoring symptoms and follow-up care are important for someone with heart failure. Ask your health care team for support with finding resources that can help with:

Accessing care
Affording your medications
Finding transportation to and from medical appointments

At the 木瓜直播, we’re developing quality education and expanding resources to help you and your loved ones successfully manage your heart failure.

Learn more about living well with heart failure:

Dealing with new emotions

You might feel many emotions connected to your condition. You may feel alone, angry, scared or different than before you learned you have heart failure. These feelings are normal. They may go away as you learn to understand and manage your condition.

Your emotions can affect how you manage heart failure symptoms. It’s important to understand your feelings, notice problems and ask for help if needed.

Seeking support

As you feel better, reach out again to family and friends. Don’t be discouraged if they seem distant or uncomfortable at first. They may be afraid to talk about your condition. They might even say or do insensitive things. They don’t mean to hurt you. It takes time for everyone to adjust to big changes.

Staying connected with friends and family

Don’t think that people no longer want to be around you. If someone you loved had heart failure, you wouldn’t stop caring about them. You’d still want to be close and active in their life.

Family and friends likely feel the same way about you. You’re worthy of love now, just like before your diagnosis. As you manage your symptoms and start feeling better, stay involved in life. Start with short visits. Add more social activity when you feel up to it.

Identifying your activity goals

Managing your heart failure symptoms is about returning to function. It’s also about doing things that make you happy. Start by visiting with a friend or taking a short walk with a family member. As you feel better and become more active, you’ll be more able to handle life outside your home.

Now is a good time to think about the things that matter most to you. What do you need to do? What do you want to do?

Take your time and gradually return to your daily activities.

Now that you better understand how to manage heart failure, make a list of your goals.

Vaccines

It’s important to know how vaccines against COVID-19, flu, RSV, shingles and pneumonia relate to risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and stroke. Without the relevant vaccinations, CVD and stroke patients, including those with heart failure, may face more severe complications.

The Heart Association urges people with heart disease or those with risk factors for heart disease or stroke to talk with their health care team about vaccination.

Learn which vaccines you need.

Dealing with advanced heart failure

Advanced heart failure happens when traditional treatments and symptom management no longer work well. More than 6 million Americans have heart failure. And at least 300,000 people are currently living with advanced heart failure. As the disease progresses, treatment decisions can be more complex.

Learn more about options for people facing advanced heart failure:

Visit our , where you can connect online with an encouraging group of people and share insights with others like you.

Last Reviewed: Jun 17, 2025