Hearing a diagnosis of any type of heart disease can be scary and overwhelming.
Questions and possibly regrets will start flying through your brain at a speed that you cannot keep up with.
You might think that you have just been given a death sentence, but in reality, if you are willing to follow your doctors treatment plan, you can live a full and healthy life, depending on how far advanced your condition is.
The first thing that you should do when you are diagnosed with heart disease is to listen as well as possible to what your doctor is saying.
If you've just been given the diagnosis, this can be very difficult to do, and if you find that you are having trouble following what he or she is saying, tell the doctor that you want just a little time to digest this news, and to get your questions together.
Schedule another appointment.
Learn as much about your heart disease using the Internet.
Make sure that you are using reliable sources for information, and realize that there is a great deal of misinformation on the internet as well.
The American Heart Association has tons of good information that you can use.
As you read through information, write your questions down.
When you revisit your doctor, take your list of questions with you, and make sure that you receive answers that you can fully understand.
Take someone with you to listen as well.
Four ears are always better than two.
Make sure that you have your doctors full attention, and that he has yours, and that you are not being rushed through the appointment.
Learn as much as you can about the medications that you will be taking.
This is very important.
You need to know the names of your medication, generic names of the medication, what your dosage is, and what the medication looks like.
You also need to know exactly how to take your medication, as this is very important to your treatment.
You need a support system.
Family and friends are very important in helping you with the diagnosis, as well as lifestyle changes that you need to make.
You can also find local support groups, or online support groups which will be very beneficial to you.
These groups not only teach you how to cope with your condition, but will also give you lots of information about various treatment options as well.
Questions and possibly regrets will start flying through your brain at a speed that you cannot keep up with.
You might think that you have just been given a death sentence, but in reality, if you are willing to follow your doctors treatment plan, you can live a full and healthy life, depending on how far advanced your condition is.
The first thing that you should do when you are diagnosed with heart disease is to listen as well as possible to what your doctor is saying.
If you've just been given the diagnosis, this can be very difficult to do, and if you find that you are having trouble following what he or she is saying, tell the doctor that you want just a little time to digest this news, and to get your questions together.
Schedule another appointment.
Learn as much about your heart disease using the Internet.
Make sure that you are using reliable sources for information, and realize that there is a great deal of misinformation on the internet as well.
The American Heart Association has tons of good information that you can use.
As you read through information, write your questions down.
When you revisit your doctor, take your list of questions with you, and make sure that you receive answers that you can fully understand.
Take someone with you to listen as well.
Four ears are always better than two.
Make sure that you have your doctors full attention, and that he has yours, and that you are not being rushed through the appointment.
Learn as much as you can about the medications that you will be taking.
This is very important.
You need to know the names of your medication, generic names of the medication, what your dosage is, and what the medication looks like.
You also need to know exactly how to take your medication, as this is very important to your treatment.
You need a support system.
Family and friends are very important in helping you with the diagnosis, as well as lifestyle changes that you need to make.
You can also find local support groups, or online support groups which will be very beneficial to you.
These groups not only teach you how to cope with your condition, but will also give you lots of information about various treatment options as well.