Diet & Exercise

Table of Contents

  1. Exercise introduction
  2. Recommended clothing
  3. Note on minimum amount of exercise
  4. Overexertion warning
  5. Diet introduction
  6. Helpful resources


The best way to control the symptoms of congestive heart failure and to help prolong your life is diet and exercise.
Here is a list of exercises you can perform inside the comfort of your home.
Running Man
  1. Running in place
  2. Stairclimbing
  3. Stretching
  4. Light-weight lifting (no more than 5 lbs)
  5. Wall-pushups
  Health tip of the day:  
  Drink plenty of water while exercising!  
  Dehydration is very dangerous!  

Note on clothing

When exercising, be sure to wear comfortable, unrestricting clothes. If your clothes restrict the bloodflow to your limbs, your heart will have to work harder to pump the blood. It is also important to wear clothes that can "breathe," that is, clothes that air can pass through to your skin. This will help prevent overheating.

Note on exercise minimums

If possible, exercise for 20 minutes or more. For each minute over 20, you burn more fat than you would if you were to exercise for short periods of time all day. It is important that you keep moving at a constant pace so that your heart does not slow. If you stop at any time before 20 minutes, you must completely restart.


It is very important that you don't overexert yourself, as this will place too much stress on your heart.
Remember: It's not how heavy the weight is, but how many times you lift it.
A five pound weight lifted 100 times does you more good than a 50 pound weight lifted 50 times.


Equally as important as exercise is what you eat and how much of it you eat. For example:
Before you discovered that you were a victim of CHF, you might've eaten carelessly, or perhaps you didn't pay very much attention to the qualities of the foods you ate. Now that you know about your condition, you've probably started paying more attention to your health, and realized that everything that you do affects your health in some way.

Look for food with the following qualities, and you've taken your first step towards a healthier life:*

  1. Low Cholesterol
  2. Low Sodium
  3. Low Sugar
  4. Low Fat
  5. High Protein
  6. High Calcium
  7. High Fiber
Here's a list of foods that you absolutely MUST NOT EAT:
  1. Anything high in saturated fat
  2. Anything containing caffeine
  3. Refined Carbohydrates

Helpful resources

You can use these resources to help you in your new lifestyle:
  1. How to handle a heart attack
  2. Homocysteine information
  3. CHF exercise testimonials
  4. Recommended books
  5. Body fat calculator
  6. Sodium content chart
*Consult your doctor before engaging on a new diet!