When you have CHF (congestive heart failure), what you eat and drink is important in helping you get better. A diet low in sodium and fluid will help keep your heart working its best. You already may be on a special diet for health problems such as coronary artery disease, diabetes, or obesity. You will need to continue following that diet in addition to limiting your sodium and fluids.
It is important to meet with a registered dietitian to develop your own meal plan. He or she can teach you what you need to know about your diet.
The more sodium and fluid you consume, the more fluid you will hold, or retain, in your body. When your body holds fluid, this is called edema (eh-DEE-muh). This can worsen your condition and make it more difficult for your heart to work.
If you are overweight, you may be given a diet to help you lose weight. Losing weight can lessen the work load for your heart.
Limit your sodium to 2,000 mg (milligrams), or 2 grams, per day.
One good way is to read food labels carefully. Look at the serving size first on the food label. Then look at how many milligrams of sodium each serving has. If you eat 2 servings, you are eating double the amount of sodium on the label.
If there is 250 mg of sodium or more in a serving of any food, that’s a lot. Avoid it unless you can work it into your daily allowance of 2,000 mg per day.
You will get used to eating in a lower sodium way. It may take many weeks, so keep working hard at changing your eating habits.
Your doctor probably will have you limit how much you drink. This sometimes is called a fluid restriction. If you are told to limit fluids to 2,000 cc a day, that equals 2 quarts.
Any item that is liquid at room temperature counts. All drinks count, including:
alcoholic drinks | fruit drinks | Kool-Aid | nectar | water |
coffee | hot chocolate | liquid medicine | soft drinks (soda pop) | |
flavored waters | juice | milk | tea |
|
Quantity |
Count as |
---|---|---|
Crushed ice | 1/2 cup | 1/4 cup fluid |
Broth | 1 cup | 1 cup fluid |
Soup | 1 cup | 3/4 cup fluid |
Fruit ice | 1/2 cup | 1/2 cup fluid |
Fruit gelatin | 1/2 cup | 1/3 cup fluid |
Gelatin, plain | 1/2 cup | 1/2 cup fluid |
Ice cream | 1/2 cup | 1/2 cup fluid |
Frozen yogurt | 1/2 cup | 1/2 cup fluid |
Sherbet | 1/2 cup | 1/2 cup fluid |
Milkshake | 1 cup | 1 cup fluid |
Popsicle | 2 halves | 1/3 cup fluid |
For at least one day, keep track of how much you drink. If you are limited to 2,000 cc or 2 quarts, fill a 2-quart container of water. Before you drink anything, measure it. Pour out the same amount of water from the container. You can estimate when you eat out. This will let you see how much fluid you have left for the day.
Try to use your fluid allowance evenly throughout the day. Make sure you save enough fluid to take the medicines you need to take late in the day.
Ounces | Cups | CC |
---|---|---|
1 | 2 Tbsp | 30 cc |
4 | 1/2 cup | 120 cc |
8 | 1 cup | 240 cc |
32 | 4 cups (1 quart) | 960 cc |
48 | 6 cups | 1,440 cc |
64 | 8 cups (2 quarts or 1/2 gallon) | 1,920 cc |
Weighing yourself daily can help you better manage your CHF. Because CHF can cause your body to hold onto fluid and salt, you may gain weight.
If you weigh yourself every day at the same time, you will be able to notice slight gains in weight. This may be a sign that your heart failure is getting worse.
If you gain 2 or 3 pounds overnight or more than 1 pound each day for 3 days in a row, call your doctor. Your doctor then will be aware that your symptoms may be getting worse. Your doctor will decide if you should change any medicines or come in to his or her office.
A few tips:
Sun. | Mon. | Tues. | Wed. | Thur. | Fri. | Sat. | |
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Week of 9/1 (sample) |
150 | 151 | 150 | 150 | 151 | 152 | 151 |
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