By Charlotte Huff
If you have heart failure, you’ll quickly learn that to feel your best, the food and beverages you don’t consume may be as important as those you do.
Heart failure, sometimes called congestive heart failure, means your heart continues to pump blood and push oxygen throughout your body. But it doesn’t work at a top-notch pace.
“Your organs aren’t getting the proper nourishment and oxygen that they need,” says Leslie Beck, a registered dietitian in Toronto. You may find that you tire more easily or that you get short of breath.
Also, “when your heart is having more difficulty pumping blood, the body has trouble getting rid of that extra fluid and water.” If that happens, you may notice that your legs and ankles look and feel more swollen, she says.