晚期心力衰竭

Even for advanced 心脏衰竭, there are treatment options

When 心脏衰竭 progresses to an advanced stage, difficult decisions must be made. Do I want to receive aggressive treatment? Is quality of life more important than living as long as possible? How do I feel about resuscitation?

For advanced 心脏衰竭 patients and their health care professional, making good decisions requires teamwork. 通过共同决策, health care professionals and patients consider both the options and the patient’s preferences before charting a treatment course. 

什么是晚期心力衰竭?

Of the more than 6 million Americans living with 心脏衰竭, about 10% have advanced 心脏衰竭. 简而言之, advanced 心脏衰竭 means conventional heart therapies and symptom management strategies are no longer working. Someone with advanced 心脏衰竭 feels shortness of breath and other 症状 即使在休息时.

In the 美国心脏协会 and American College of Cardiology’s A-to-D staging system, 晚期心力衰竭是D期.

另一个 分类系统, developed by the New York Heart Association, grades the severity of 症状 on a 1-to-4 scale. Your symptom severity number can fluctuate, even within a single day, depending on how you feel. 

在早期阶段， 药物治疗 和一个 健康的生活方式 能帮助控制心力衰竭吗. But as the disease progresses and the heart becomes weaker, treatment gets more complex. 那是有困难的时候, 然而,重要的, conversations with your family and your health care professional about the care you want to receive. 

什么是共同决策??

When 心脏衰竭 progresses to an advanced stage, there are still many treatment options. The decisions, ranging from “do everything possible” to “strive for comfort,” aren’t easy. That’s why the 美国心脏协会 released recommendations that serve as a roadmap to decision-making in advanced 心脏衰竭.

我们的目标? A partnership between you and your health care professional, where medical options are honestly discussed, and decisions are made based on what you want. Shared decision-making means you don’t have to make decisions on your own.

Health care professional-patient conversations about treatment options, their risks and benefits as well as future “what-if” scenarios should happen early and often, according to experts who helped draft the AHA recommendations. This early dialogue means you’re not blindsided when a big medical event happens that requires tough decision-making.

Health care professionals provide the medical facts and figures, while you provide your personal goals and preferences. Together — and often with input from family and friends — you and your health care professional build a care plan.

Living with advanced 心脏衰竭 is difficult, and the medical decisions can be complicated. 共同决策, you can avoid heat-of-the-moment decisions and instead take time to figure out what’s best for you.