Coronary Heart Disease Living With

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It is important to get routine medical care and take all medicines regularly, as your healthcare provider prescribed, as part of your treatment plan:

• Follow your provider's directions. Do not change the amount of your medicine or skip a dose unless your provider tells you to. Be sure to tell your provider about over-the-counter medicines or supplements you take.
• Talk to your provider about how often to schedule office visits and blood tests.
• Call your provider if you have any new symptoms, if your symptoms worsen, or if you have problems with your blood pressure or blood sugar.

Your provider may refer you for cardiac rehabilitation, which is a medically supervised exercise program for people recovering from heart problems. Studies show that cardiac rehabilitation lowers the risk of hospitalization and death. It can also improve your quality of life.

Work with your healthcare provider to manage medical conditions that can raise your risk of heart problems:

• Your provider may suggest heart-healthy lifestyle changes to lower your chances of serious heart disease. These changes include choosing heart-healthy foods, being physically active, quitting smoking, getting enough quality sleep, aiming for a healthy weight, getting your blood pressure and cholesterol checked, and managing your blood sugar. The NHLBI TLC Program offers tips for adopting a healthier lifestyle to help control cholesterol levels.
• Your provider may prescribe a statin to lower your  LDL cholesterol . Learn how to take statins safely.
• You may benefit from low-dose aspirin to prevent a  blood clot  and lower your risk for heart attacks and other complications of coronary heart disease. Talk to your provider before taking aspirin, because it raises the risk of serious bleeding.
• If you have diabetes, you will need to check your blood sugar regularly and keep taking any prescribed medicines.
• If your coronary heart disease has led to a sudden cardiac arrest, your provider may recommend a defibrillator to detect and treat certain types of irregular heartbeats, or arrhythmias.
• For people whose hearts weakened due to complications of heart disease, providers may recommend a heart device, such as a ventricular assist device, or a total artificial heart.

Sexual health is important to quality of life for many people. If you had a serious complication of coronary heart disease or had heart surgery, talk with your healthcare provider about precautions you should take before resuming sexual activity: 

• Men who are taking nitrate medicines for their heart condition may need to delay or stop taking medicines for erectile dysfunction. 
• Sexual rehabilitation, including 12 weeks of physical exercise training, pelvic floor exercise, and education, can improve sexual function for many people recovering from heart problems.
• Cardiac stress testing can help ensure that your heart has recovered enough to safely resume sexual activity. 
• Cardiac rehabilitation and regular exercise may help reduce risk of heart complications with sexual activity.

Living with heart disease may cause fear, anxiety, depression, and stress. You may worry about having heart problems or making lifestyle changes that are necessary for your health. Talk with your provider about how you feel and consider seeking other types of support:

• Talk to a professional counselor. If you have depression or anxiety, you may also need medicines or other treatments that can improve your quality of life.
• Join a patient support group. This may help you adjust to living with heart disease. You can learn how other people manage symptoms like yours. Your provider may be able to recommend local support groups, or you can check with an area medical center.
• Seek support from family and friends. Letting your loved ones know how you feel and what they can do to help you can help relieve stress and anxiety.

If your heart condition or other serious health problem does not respond to treatments, palliative care or hospice care may improve your quality of life and keep you comfortable. These care plans manage your symptoms to avoid extra tests or treatments and support you and your loved ones. 

An advance care plan, also called an advance directive, can also let loved ones and care providers know what to do if you are not able to make treatment decisions for yourself.

Serious problems from coronary heart disease can be life-threatening and may lead to disability:

• Angina 
• Arrhythmia
• Cardiac arrest
• Cardiogenic shock
• Heart attack
• Heart failure
• Stroke