Heart Failure & Sodium
While your body needs some sodium, too much sodium causes your body to retain fluid and forces your heart to work harder. If you have heart failure, this can weaken the heart muscle and increase blood pressure. A low-sodium diet can help minimize the extra fluid and prevent heart problems.
How to Limit Sodium in Your Diet
Your healthcare provider will probably recommend that you consume no more than 2,000 mg of sodium per day. There’s more to limiting sodium than not adding salt to your food; you’ll need to read labels while you shop and look for low-sodium recipes. Here are some other ways to limit sodium in your diet:
- Eat fresh vegetables and fruits whenever possible; frozen are also good alternatives
- Eat high-fiber foods to maintain a healthy body weight
- Look for no-salt-added canned vegetables, or rinse them before cooking
- Avoid processed and convenience foods such as frozen dinners, sauce mixes, deli meats and canned soups
- Rather than salt, season your food with herbs, spices and seasonings like Mrs. Dash
- Whenever possible, eat at home rather than in restaurants
Your healthcare provider may recommend that you weigh yourself daily to monitor fluid status and check weight. Generally, if your weight increases by two pounds in a day or five pounds in a week, you should contact your healthcare provider.
Other Ways to Treat Heart Failure
The earlier congestive heart failure is diagnosed, the better the outcome. There are a number of medications that work to improve the heart’s pumping function and decrease heart failure symptoms. A pacemaker may be an option to improve heart function, while an implantable defibrillator can correct abnormal heart rhythms.
Lifestyle changes will also determine how successful your chronic heart failure treatment will be. Many patients benefit from a cardiac rehabilitation program, and regular exercise is essential for all patients. If you’re overweight or obese, you’ll need to work with your healthcare team to lose weight.
By making healthy choices including limiting the amount of sodium in your diet, you can reduce and even prevent symptoms of heart failure.
Talk to your healthcare provider if you'd like more information on heart failure and sodium.
Visit HealthChoicesFirst.com for more videos and resources on heart health.
Print this Action Plan and check off items that you want to discuss with your healthcare provider
-
Your healthcare provider will probably recommend that you consume no more than 2,000 mg of sodium per day.
-
Avoid processed and convenience foods such as frozen dinners, sauce mixes, deli meats and canned soups. Rather than salt, season your food with herbs, spices and seasonings like Mrs. Dash.
-
Your healthcare provider may recommend that you weigh yourself daily to monitor fluid status and check weight. Generally, if your weight increases by two pounds in a day or five pounds in a week, you should contact your healthcare provider.
-
The earlier congestive heart failure is diagnosed, the better the outcome. There are a number of medications that work to improve the heart’s pumping function and decrease heart failure symptoms.
-
Many patients benefit from a cardiac rehabilitation program, and regular exercise is essential for all patients. If you’re overweight or obese, you’ll need to work with your healthcare team to lose weight.
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Heart Failure & Sodium
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Action Plan - Heart Failure & Sodium
While your body needs some sodium, too much sodium causes your body to retain fluid and forces your heart to work harder. If you have heart failure, this can weaken the heart muscle and increase blood pressure. A low-sodium diet can help minimize the extra fluid and prevent heart problems.
How to Limit Sodium in Your Diet
Your healthcare provider will probably recommend that you consume no more than 2,000 mg of sodium per day. There’s more to limiting sodium than not adding salt to your food; you’ll need to read labels while you shop and look for low-sodium recipes. Here are some other ways to limit sodium in your diet:
- Eat fresh vegetables and fruits whenever possible; frozen are also good alternatives
- Eat high-fiber foods to maintain a healthy body weight
- Look for no-salt-added canned vegetables, or rinse them before cooking
- Avoid processed and convenience foods such as frozen dinners, sauce mixes, deli meats and canned soups
- Rather than salt, season your food with herbs, spices and seasonings like Mrs. Dash
- Whenever possible, eat at home rather than in restaurants
Your healthcare provider may recommend that you weigh yourself daily to monitor fluid status and check weight. Generally, if your weight increases by two pounds in a day or five pounds in a week, you should contact your healthcare provider.
Other Ways to Treat Heart Failure
The earlier congestive heart failure is diagnosed, the better the outcome. There are a number of medications that work to improve the heart’s pumping function and decrease heart failure symptoms. A pacemaker may be an option to improve heart function, while an implantable defibrillator can correct abnormal heart rhythms.
Lifestyle changes will also determine how successful your chronic heart failure treatment will be. Many patients benefit from a cardiac rehabilitation program, and regular exercise is essential for all patients. If you’re overweight or obese, you’ll need to work with your healthcare team to lose weight.
By making healthy choices including limiting the amount of sodium in your diet, you can reduce and even prevent symptoms of heart failure.
Talk to your healthcare provider if you'd like more information on heart failure and sodium.
Visit HealthChoicesFirst.com for more videos and resources on heart health.
Print this Action Plan and check off items that you want to discuss with your healthcare provider
-
Your healthcare provider will probably recommend that you consume no more than 2,000 mg of sodium per day.
-
Avoid processed and convenience foods such as frozen dinners, sauce mixes, deli meats and canned soups. Rather than salt, season your food with herbs, spices and seasonings like Mrs. Dash.
-
Your healthcare provider may recommend that you weigh yourself daily to monitor fluid status and check weight. Generally, if your weight increases by two pounds in a day or five pounds in a week, you should contact your healthcare provider.
-
The earlier congestive heart failure is diagnosed, the better the outcome. There are a number of medications that work to improve the heart’s pumping function and decrease heart failure symptoms.
-
Many patients benefit from a cardiac rehabilitation program, and regular exercise is essential for all patients. If you’re overweight or obese, you’ll need to work with your healthcare team to lose weight.