What foods are better for heart failure

If patients with heart failure can eat a reasonable and healthy diet, it can play a good role in alleviating the condition and reducing adverse effects. Patients with heart failure should pay attention to limiting sodium intake, because high sodium can easily cause water and sodium retention or cause high blood pressure, leading to worsening of heart failure.

1. Limit fluid intake. In addition to not drinking too much fluid for infusion, you should also not drink too much water or soup, otherwise it will increase the amount of fluid in blood circulation and aggravate heart failure.

2. Low-sodium diet: High sodium can cause water and sodium retention, cause high blood pressure, and aggravate heart failure. Limit the intake of salt and various sodium-containing foods to prevent edema. Vegetables such as broccoli, celery, fennel, and water spinach have high sodium content and should be eaten less. Various pickles, soy products, and pickled foods (because they contain sodium salt) are taboo.

3. Since heart failure will require long-term diuresis to reduce the amount of circulating fluid, it will cause hypokalemia. Potassium deficiency can cause intestinal paralysis, etc., and easily induce digitalis (cardiotonic drug) poisoning. Patients who use diuretics for a long time should eat more potassium-rich foods and fruits, such as potatoes, seaweed, rapeseed, tomatoes, milk, bananas, red dates, oranges, etc. Potassium supplementation is often given clinically.

4. Heat energy and protein should not be too high. Generally speaking, there is no need to restrict protein intake too strictly, 1 gram per kilogram of body weight per day, 50 to 70 grams per day. However, when heart failure is severe, it is advisable to reduce the protein supply to 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight per day. The special dynamic effects of protein may increase the heart's additional energy requirements and increase the body's metabolic rate, so different degrees of restrictions should be imposed. Obesity is known to have adverse effects on both circulation and respiration, especially when heart failure occurs, as it can cause elevation of the diaphragm, reduction in lung volume and changes in heart position, thus becoming a more serious factor. In addition, obesity will increase the burden on the heart itself, so a low-calorie diet should be adopted to maintain the patient's net weight at a normal or slightly lower than normal level. Moreover, a low-calorie diet will reduce the body's oxygen consumption, thereby reducing the heart's workload.