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Coping and support
By Mayo Clinic staffYou may feel frustrated, upset or overwhelmed upon learning you or your loved one has heart disease. Fortunately, there are ways to help cope with heart disease or improve your condition. These include:
- Cardiac rehabilitation. For people who have cardiovascular disease that's caused a heart attack or has required surgery to correct, cardiac rehabilitation is often recommended as a way to improve treatment and speed recovery. Cardiac rehabilitation is a program often divided into phases that involve various levels of monitored exercise, nutritional counseling, emotional support, and support and education about lifestyle changes to reduce your risks of heart problems.
- Support groups. Finding out that you or a loved one has heart disease can be unnerving. Turning to friends and family for support is essential, but if you find you need more help, talk to your doctor about joining a support group. You may find that talking about your concerns with others who are experiencing the same difficulties can help.
- Continued medical checkups. If you have a recurring or chronic heart condition, it's a good idea to regularly check in with your doctor to make sure you're properly managing your heart condition. Regular checkups can help your doctor decide if you need to change your treatment, and may help catch new problems early, if they occur. If you're the parent of a child with heart disease, it's a good idea to encourage your child to regularly visit his or her doctor to monitor a heart condition in adulthood.
References
- Nash IS. Clinical Practice Guidelines in Cardiovascular Disease. In: Fuster V, ed. et al. Hurst's The Heart. 12th ed. New York, N.Y.: The McGraw-Hill Companies; 2008. http://www.accessmedicine.com/resourceTOC.aspx?resourceID=5. Accessed Nov. 12, 2010.
- How the heart works. National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/hhw/hhw_all.html. Accessed Nov. 5, 2010.
- Arrhythmia. National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/arr/arr_all.html. Accessed Nov. 5, 2010.
- Cardiomyopathy. National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/cm/cm_all.html. Accessed Nov. 5, 2010.
- Heart valves. American Heart Association. http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4598. Accessed Nov. 15, 2010.
- Congenital heart defects. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/chd/chd_all.html. Accessed Nov. 9, 2010.
- Endocarditis. National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/endo/endo_all.html. Accessed Nov. 5, 2010.
- Sexton DJ. Epidemiology, risk factors and microbiology of infective endocarditis. http://www.uptodate.com/index. Accessed Nov. 9, 2010.
- Corey GR. Etiology of pericardial disease. http://www.uptodate.com/index. Accessed Nov. 9, 2010.
- Cooper LT. Natural history and therapy of myocarditis in adults. http://www.uptodate.com/index. Accessed Nov. 9, 2010.
- Lloyd-Jones D, et al. Heart disease and stroke statistics: 2009 update. Circulation. 2009;119:e21.
- Chobanian AV, et al. The seventh report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure. New England Journal of Medicine. 2003;289:2560.
- Rosendorff C, et al. Treatment of hypertension in the prevention and management of ischemic heart disease: A scientific statement from the American Heart Association Council for High Blood Pressure Research and the Councils on Clinical Cardiology and Epidemiology and Prevention. Circulation. 2007;115:2761.
- Executive summary of the Third Report of the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) Expert Panel on Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Cholesterol in Adults (Adult Treatment Panel III). National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/guidelines/cholesterol/atp3xsum.pdf. Accessed Nov. 15, 2010.
- Common tests for congenital heart defects. American Heart Association. http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/CongenitalHeartDefects/SymptomsDiagnosisofCongenitalHeartDefects/Common-Tests-for-Congenital-Heart-Defects_UCM_307412_Article.jsp. Accessed Nov. 12, 2010.
- Electrocardiogram. National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/ekg/ekg_all.html. Accessed Nov. 9, 2010.
- Davis MM, et al. Influenza vaccination as secondary prevention for cardiovascular disease: A science advisory from the American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology. Circulation. 2006;114:1549.
- Cardiac rehabilitation. National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/rehab/rehab_all.html. Accessed Nov. 5, 2010.
- Aucott L, et al. Long term weight loss from lifestyle intervention benefits blood pressure: A systematic review. Hypertension. 2009;54:756.
- Friedewald VE, et al. The American Journal of Cardiology and Journal of Periodontology editors' consensus: Periodontitis and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Journal of Periodontology. 2009;80:1021.
- Natural medicines in the clinical management of hyperlipidemia. Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database. http://www.naturaldatabase.com. Accessed Nov. 5, 2010.
- Natural medicines in the clinical management of hypertension. Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database. http://www.naturaldatabase.com. Accessed Nov. 5, 2010.
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