How To Live Happily With Heart Failure

Just because you have been diagnosed with heart failure doesn’t mean it needs to dictate the way you live your life. Whilst you may find you need to make some slight lifestyle changes to ensure you are giving yourself the best chance of managing your heart failure, you can still live a happy and healthy life. Your disease does not define you.

Pumping Marvellous has had the pleasure of meeting some amazing people that are all currently living well with heart failure. They all have their own ways of ensuring they still make the most of life and find ways to appreciate the small things whilst focus on the ‘can do’ moments.

To help anyone that currently feels underwhelmed by the life they’re living post-diagnosis Pumping Marvellous have put together some ideas that may help you to live happily with heart failure.

Talk to someone

We cannot stress how important it is to speak to someone about how you’re feeling. Whether it is a medical professional, someone from a heart foundation charity, a family member or a close friend, getting things off your chest is always the first step to feeling better.

Our advice would be to talk to someone that knows how to make you feel better. Meet up with friends and have a laugh together. There are so many people who care about you and we can guarantee many will all want to see you smile.

Celebrate life

Having heart failure doesn’t mean that your heart has stopped, it is still pumping and this is something to celebrate. Life can be a rollercoaster, to say the least, but there is always something worth celebrating.

Look back on how much progress you have made since diagnosis to create a healthier lifestyle for yourself and be proud. You have come so far and there is still so much celebrating left to do so, instead of getting stuck in a rut that eats away at your days try to look on the brighter side.

Get a pet

If you don’t have a pet but have always wanted one, now is the perfect time to adopt. Pet ownership can actually be a reasonable part of an overall strategy to lower the risk of heart disease or increase the quality of life in heart failure patients.

Having a dog, for example, gives you a reason to get out of the house every day and undertake light exercise. There is no denying that pets also have a calming effect on their owners so, they are perfect for anyone living with heart failure.

Volunteer with a charity

Often when looking for something to fill your days or to give something back to a specific charity, people will choose to do volunteer work. Whether it is a couple of hours a day or even just once a week, volunteering is amazing.

Of course, it can be incredibly rewarding too and by volunteering, you may be able to help people that are currently in a much worse situation than you are. Sometimes it can really put things into perspective.

Take up a new hobby

It may also be worth looking into taking up a new hobby, think about something you have always wanted to do and as long as your doctor gives you the go-ahead, now is the perfect time to start. Enjoy having some time for yourself and do something fun.

Depending on the hobby, it may also be another way you can keep active, control your weight, reduce your blood pressure and cholesterol and also improve your mental health. Although it may seem like something small, a hobby can really change your life.

Living happily with heart failure

There are so many things you can do to keep your spirits up after diagnosis and thankfully, all of these things above will not only help your condition but give you more energy so you can feel better and live longer too. Try something new and see how you feel.

Pumping Marvellous is a patient-led charity here in the UK. We offer support for heart failure patients, so if you ever need to talk please don’t hesitate to reach out to our amazing team. If you’re interested in undertaking volunteer charity work then Pumping Marvellous would also be incredibly grateful for any amount of time that you can offer.