Heartways Therapy
This therapy intervention offers numerous benefits, such as improvements in Balance, Muscle Strength, Endurance, and General Well-Being.
What is Exercise?
The term used when you have difficulty breathing or shortness of breath.
Dyspnea
Your patient is in this zone if they report increased coughing and needing extra pillows to sleep.
What is Yellow Zone?
The most stressed diet item in the HF regimen, this is often found in high volumes in canned and processed foods.
What is Salt/Sodium?
These medications reduce the amount of fluid in the body. They are among the most important medicines in helping control fluid buildup in the body.
Diuretics (Lasix, Bumex, Furosemide)
This therapy intervention is guided by the 4 P's (Planning, Prioritization, Pacing, Positioning) to prevent fatigue and worsening symptoms, so that our patient's can safely get through their day without risk of exacerbation.
What is Energy Conservation?
This symptom involves swelling in the ankles, legs, and abdomen.
Edema
Your patient is in this zone if there is no new SOB, swelling, or weight gain.
What is Green Zone?
This essential daily activity should be performed upon waking, after you empty your bladder and before eating or drinking.
What is Taking Weight / Measuring Weight?
Pain medications you are told to avoid as they make you retain fluid
NSAIDS (Ibuprofen, Naproxen..)
This 1-10 scale is in our Heartways Journal and is used by patients to grade how hard their body is working during physical activity.
What is the Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) Scale?
This symptom involves feeling tired or weak.
Fatigue
Your patient is in this zone if they are SOB all the time, have a loss of appetite, and/or present with confusion/anxiety.
What is Red Zone?
This Key Hospitalization Prevention Tool should be reviewed at every clinician visit, as well as reviewed daily by our patients to help them stay in the Zone.
What is the Heart Failure Zone Tool?
These medications prevent blood clots from forming. They do not break up clots you already have, but they can stop those clots from getting bigger.
Blood Thinners (Warfarin, Coumadin)
This key measure represents the patient's capacity to TOLERATE, or safely sustain necessary or desired physical and mental tasks.
What is Activity Tolerance?
You may feel this symptom when you have a rapid or irregular heartbeat.
Palpitations
What is call 911 or go to the Emergency Room?
This check-up completed within 2 weeks of discharge from Hospital is proven to reduce Heart Failure Readmissions.
What is a Provider/Physician Follow Up Visit?
This class of medications is often prescribed to help slow the heart rate down, Lowers BP’s, and Helps the heart pump more efficiently over time.
Beta-Blockers (Metoprolol, Coreg, Bisoprolol)
This clinical event occurs when BP drops as you more from lying down or sitting to standing. This drop reduces blood flow to your organs and muscles, increasing the risk of falls.
Orthostatic Hypotension
This persistent symptom, often considered "dry," happens when you have fluid buildup in the lungs. It often keeps you awake at night when you lay down.
Coughing
Your patient is in this zone when they have 2+ pitting edema in Bilateral ankles at SOC and you see them with 2+ pitting edema in Bilateral ankles in their 2nd week of the episode.
What is the Green Zone?
This is a daily record of key indicators that our Aveanna Heartways patients track to identify early changes that may warrant intervention to prevent hospitalization.
What is Aveanna Heartways Journal or CHF Patient Monitoring Log?
This critical task is a structured process of creating the most accurate, comprehensive list of a patient's current medications—including dosage, frequency, and route.
Medication Reconciliation