Lifestyle
Overview
Resources
Overview
In addition to regular exercise and healthy eating, lifestyle habits are important to maintaining good health with your heart condition. These lifestyle changes can help you manage your symptoms and promote long-term success on your journey:
- Know your medications and take them as prescribed.
- Never smoke.
- Get enough sleep.
- Be mindful of your stress level and find ways to manage stress (e.g. reading quietly, mediation, yoga).
Resources
Hearts & Minds: Neurodevelopment in Patients with Heart Failure & VADs
Prompted by needs and interests of our Families in ACTION (FACT) Committee, ACTION recently joined forces with a fellow Cardiac Networks United organization, the Cardiac Neurodevelopmental Outcome Collaborative to:
- develop patient and family resources specific to neurodevelopment in pediatric heart failure and VAD patients, and
- better understand current practices among ACTION sites specific to neurodevelopmental care and education.
This cross-network collaboration brought together experts in pediatric psychology, neuropsychology, cardiology, nursing, and more to address this important aspect of care for patients and families.
