Exploring Medicine
Treatment Options

If you’re living with heart failure, you may need medicines to help keep your heart and body healthy.
If you’re in the hospital, medicine is often given through an IV (intravenous therapy).
If you are at home, or ready to leave the hospital, your medicines will be taken by mouth.

If you’re living with heart failure, you may need medicines to help keep your heart and body healthy. If you’re in the hospital, medicine is often given through an IV (intravenous therapy). If you are at home, or ready to leave the hospital, your medicines will be taken by mouth.

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Types

Overview

In order to keep you healthy, your doctor may prescribe different medicines. There are two main goals with heart failure medicines. The first goal is to improve your heart’s function by helping the ventricles squeeze better, which provides more blood flow to your body. The second goal is to decrease how hard your heart has to work by relaxing the blood vessels and/or removing extra water. Sometimes, these medicines may help stabilize, improve, or even recover your heart. In some cases the heart is too sick for medicines alone and other advanced treatment options like a ventricular assist device (VAD) or heart transplant may be needed.

Watch the video below to learn more about treatment options.

Many of the common heart failure medicines can be broken down into a few categories:

Medicines that help the heart squeeze easier
Medicines that remove extra water from the body
Medicines that thin the blood in order to prevent or treat blood clots
Medicines to prevent high blood pressure

IV Therapy

While you’re in the hospital, it’s likely that you’ll have IV (intravenous therapy) medicines. This means the medicine will be given to you by your care team and will go directly into your vein through the IV.

There are three main kinds of medications you will get through IV:

Inotropes: Medicines that help your heart squeeze easier
Diuretics: Medicines that help your body remove extra water
Anticoagulants: Medicines that thin the blood and help prevent blood clots

Your care team will monitor you closely while you’re on these medicines. If IV therapy is unsuccessful, your doctor may discuss more advanced therapy options.

Click the images below to learn more about each medicine.

Inotropes

Learn about the medicines given through an IV that help your heart contract more easily.

Diuretics

Learn about the medicines given through an IV that help your body remove extra water.

Anticoagulants

Learn about the medicines given through an IV that thin your blood.

By Mouth Therapy

While you’re in the hospital, medicine is often given through an IV. As your doctors prepare you to go home, they will change those medicines to be given by mouth. It is important that you take your medicines exactly as your doctor tells you to. Oral medicines should be given at the same time every day. You can use a pill box to keep your medicines organized.

Click the images below to learn more about each medicine.