Heart Failure: What Are Daily Symptom Checks?

Your heart failure action plan  helps you see how your symptoms change from day to day.

And it lets you know how well you're doing.

And that can tell you when to call  your doctor or get emergency help.

Your plan might use heart  failure zones—green, yellow, and red—to help you check your  symptoms and know what to do.

When you're in the green zone, you're doing well.

Your weight isn't changing,  and you can breathe easily.

But if your symptoms change—increased  shortness of breath or quick weight gain, for instance—that puts you in the yellow  zone. You need to call your doctor.

You are in the red zone when  you have emergency symptoms— like severe trouble breathing  or pink, foamy mucus.

If you have any emergency symptoms,  you need to get help right away.

Now, having the plan and knowing  what to check is one thing.

Doing it every day is another. Maybe  it's hard to fit check-ins into your day.

Or maybe you just don't want to think  about having heart failure all the time.

So what if, instead, you think  of it as your plan for wellness?

And that checking in is how you  can stay well and feel your best?

Thinking of your action plan as a  wellness plan is just one idea to try.

Maybe you'll have a better  idea of what will help you.

And then think of a way you can make a check-in  just a quick part of your morning routine.

You could do a check-in when you  first get up and weigh yourself.

Or maybe when you put your shoes on, you  could also check your ankles for swelling.

How could you make this so easy that  it's just like brushing your teeth?

Since you know what works for you,  you'll have the best ideas for you.

So what's your next step?  Where will you go from here?

What is that one thing you can do to  make check-ins regular parts of your day?