CHF - 3 - Condition & Symptoms

Goal: Find out what the individual knows about how stress impacts CHF; discover the positive role stress management has in disease management.

Possible Action Steps

Find out if the individual knows of ways that stress negatively impacts health.
Have the individual identify what they consider to be healthy and unhealthy coping strategies.
Problem solve on ways to reduce the individual’s stress.
Problem-solve how to use more healthy coping strategies.
Ask individual to choose one way to reduce stress and try it out in the next few days.

Supporting Resources

Possible Action Steps

Encourage individual to measure weight every day at the same time -- and to track results using a free online tracker like My Fitness Pal.
Together, make a plan to address situations in which routines will be challenged – travel, eating at restaurants, days with doctor appointments, visitors, etc.
Find out if the individual knows how to respond when they feel bad.
Find out if the individual knows how to respond to yellow and red CHF flags.
Work to increase situations and activities that result in feeling good.

Supporting Resources

Possible Action Steps

Discuss the warning signs for the cold, flu and pneumonia.
Discuss the importance of vaccinations to help prevent the flu and pneumonia.
Ask individual if they have been immunized for flu and pneumonia in the past 12 months.
Help individual make a plan to get fully immunized if they haven’t done so in the past 12 months.

Supporting Resources

Goal: Help the individual understand the relationship between CHF and high blood pressure; discuss ways to promote optimal blood pressure control.

Possible Action Steps

Use the Hypertension Coaching for Activation module to cover high blood pressure and blood pressure control.
Discuss some of the ways to control blood pressure (medication, no smoking, low salt diet, moderate or no alcohol, moderate activity, stress management.)
Discuss the individual’s self-perceived risks for high blood pressure. Together develop a plan to change one contributing behavior in the upcoming week.

Supporting Resources

Goal & Action Planning Worksheet
Review goals and action steps from level 1 and 2 as appropriate to fill in knowledge gaps.