Issues in Heart Failure

The drug Lasix is used as a treatment for heart failure. This drug is a diuretic. The generic name is furosemide. More information is given at www.drugs.com. This drug causes you to urinate. It should not be used if you can't urinate. The idea of the drug is to get rid of excess sodium in the body.

A paradoxical side effect is urinating less than usual or not at all (1).
Lasix can interact with aspirin as well as with other drugs.
Read more: http://www.drugs.com/lasix.html#ixzz0yC58oBLb

Lopressor

Lopressor is also called Metoprolol. Like all presciption drugs, it has side effects, unfortunately. One is excessive thirst. For the rest of the side effects, consult Ref. 1.

Lisinopril

This is another drug used for heart failure. Unfortunately it has bad side effects. One of these side effects is little or no urine according to Yahoo! Health. The drug is supposed to lower blood pressure.

Dietary Approaches

Calcium is considered to help maintain a regular heartbeat as well as do other good things. According to Ref. 2, it helps lower cholesterol. Magnesium is also useful to the heart.

Sodium, on the other hand, is a problem and should be avoided. There are a number of diets collectively called DASH. They differ with various calorie levels and various sodium levels. Potassium is considered antihypertensive. Fruits are very good because they are low in sodium, high in potassium, and low in fat. On top of that, they have no cholesterol and good fiber. Fruits don't have that many calories because they are mostly water.

Beware of processed foods, which are high in sodium. Beware of MSG (monosodium glutamate), which is often found in Chinese food. Soy sauce is very high in salt.

The following foods are very high in sodium (2):

Anchovies, bacon, beef, bologna, bran, butter, Canadian bacon, clams, corned beef, dulse, green beans, green olives, ham, Irish moss, kelp, margarine, meat, milk, poultry, rose hips, salt, sardines, seafood, tomatoes. Supplements: Baking soda, monosodium glutamate, sodium ascorbate, sodium chloride.

Potassium is high in the following foods (2):

Almonds, apricots, avocados, bananas, beef, bran, Brazil nuts, brewer's yeast, broccoli, brown rice, cabbage herb, cashews, celery herb, chard, citrus fruit, dairy foods, dates, figs, fish, fruit, garlic, grapefruit juice, green leafy vegetables, guava, legumes, lentils, meat, milk, molasses, nectarine, nuts, oranges, parsley, parsnips, peanuts, peaches, pork, potatoes, poultry, raisins, rice bran, sardines, seaweed, seeds, soybeans, spinach (fresh), squash, sunflower seeds, tomato juice, veal, walnuts, wheat bran, whole grains, yams. Supplements: potassium ascorbate, potassium aspartate, potassium benzoate, potassium carbonate, potassium chloride, potassium gluconate, potassium hydroxide.

Don't eat anything packed in brine. Brine is salt water. Produce is usually good, but olives are a vegetable that is high in salt.

The Heart Failure Society of America

The website of this St. Paul, MN organization has a lot of information on a low-salt diet. It also has information on potassium. It also has information on symptoms. With certain symptoms you should call 911. If you are having shortness of breath due to fluid in your lungs, that can be a symptom of heart failure. Call 911. Pain in the chest can be a symptom of a heart attack.

Conclusions

Another good source of information is the NIH website, which has information on the DASH diets. DASH is an acronym for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. There are other lifestyle issues such as exercise. These other lifestyle issues are discussed at both the HFSA website and the NIH website. Smoking and drinking are both bad.

References

1. www.drugs.com.

2. www.orthomolecular.org.