Conditions / Heart failure
Home health for heart failure (CHF)
Many families know the cycle: more tired and short of breath, a 911 call, the emergency room, a hospital stay, then home again. With heart failure, small changes such as a few pounds of fluid often come first. Home health nurses help you catch those changes early, manage your medicines, and work with your cardiologist, so you can stay well at home.
How home health helps
- Nursing visits to check weight, blood pressure, heart rate, breathing, and swelling.
- Medicine review and teaching, including water pills (diuretics) and when to take them.
- A simple daily weight and symptom routine that fits your life.
- Coordination with your doctor or cardiologist when your numbers change.
- Therapy to build strength and energy safely, and diet guidance on salt and fluids.
Learn more about our skilled nursing.
What to expect
- Your doctor orders home health, often after a hospital stay for heart failure.
- The first visit reviews every medicine you take and sets up your plan of care.
- Your doctor's orders set the visit schedule. Many plans have more visits in the first weeks after a hospital stay, when the risk of going back is highest.
- You will learn which changes mean call your care team and which mean call 911, so you are not guessing at 2 a.m.
- The first visit is longer than later ones. The nurse or therapist reviews your health and medicines and checks your home for fall and safety risks. It is a safety check, not an inspection of your housekeeping.
- Home health is visits, not all-day care. Between visits, you and your family carry out the plan, and your care team teaches you how.
What you and your family do between visits
- Weigh at the same time every morning, after using the bathroom, and write it down.
- Take medicines as prescribed and tell your nurse if you are skipping doses or having side effects.
- Follow the salt and fluid limits your doctor gave you.
- Keep it simple: your daily weight and a note on how you feel are the most useful things to show your nurse.
When to call
Call your care team if…
- Weight gain of 2 to 3 pounds in a day or 5 pounds in a week, or the amount your doctor told you
- More swelling in your feet, ankles, legs, or belly
- More short of breath than usual, or needing more pillows to sleep
- Dizziness, a cough that will not go away, or feeling more tired than usual
Use the number your care team gave you, or call us at 214-440-1394 (Texas) or 303-597-0505 (Colorado).
Call 911 if…
- Chest pain or pressure
- Severe shortness of breath or struggling to breathe
- Fainting
- Coughing up pink, foamy mucus
Do not wait to call your care team first.
General information, not medical advice. Follow your care team's instructions.
Questions families ask
How can home health help keep someone with heart failure out of the hospital?
By catching warning signs early. Nurses track weight, swelling, and breathing, review medicines, and call your doctor when something changes, so treatment can be adjusted before a problem becomes an emergency.
What weight gain is a warning sign with heart failure?
A common rule is a gain of 2 to 3 pounds in one day or 5 pounds in a week, but follow the number your doctor gives you. Call your care team if you reach it.
Questions about Medicare, homebound status, and costs are on our FAQ page.
Getting started
Home health starts with an order from your doctor. Ask your doctor or hospital discharge planner for Adaptive Home Health, or call us and we will work with your doctor. We serve Texas (Houston, Dallas–Fort Worth, Austin, San Antonio, and Central Texas) and Colorado (Denver). See the areas and ZIP codes we serve.
Doctors and discharge planners: refer a patient.
Helpful guides
- What to expect from home health care
- What “homebound” means for Medicare home health
- Leaving the hospital: a home health checklist