Heart failure is a chronic (lifelong) condition that must be treated. But with proper treatment, you can live a full life with heart failure. You can feel better, reduce your chance of going into or being readmitted to the hospital, and live longer by taking care of yourself. Thanks to recent advances in medical treatment, the symptoms of heart failure can be relieved and the progress of heart failure can be slowed, stopped, and in some cases even reversed. Still, the progress of heart failure is different for each person, so it can be hard to predict what the future holds. That’s why it’s important to prepare for the times ahead, when you may feel ill or require someone else to make decisions about your medical care. Later in this guide, we’ll provide you information designed to help ease the process of preparing an advance care plan, including the documents you’ll need. But first, let’s review some of the basics of heart failure.

There are three basic types of heart failure:

1. Left-sided systolic failure, in which the left ventricle can’t contract as it should.

2. Left-sided diastolic failure, in which the left ventricle can’t relax the way it should.

3. Right-sided heart failure, in which the right ventricle can’t contract as it should. The treatment you’ll receive depends in part on the type(s) of heart failure you have.