Medications play a key role in treating heart failure. They can also stop it from getting worse. Treatments for heart failure differ from one patient to another. Your doctor will prescribe treatments for you based on the cause of your heart failure and how severe it is. But, all heart failure patients should get the following drugs unless there is some reason they cannot take the drug:

• ACE (angiotensin-converting enzyme) inhibitors. Help lower your blood pressure, and help prevent heart failure from worsening.
• Angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARB). Help lower your blood pressure.
• Beta blockers. Keep your heart rate from increasing. Also, help lower your blood pressure.

Other treatment options your doctor might prescribe for you are:

• Diuretics (or water pills). Help the kidneys get rid of salt and water from the blood. Diuretics make you urinate more. This helps to lower high levels of fluid in people with heart failure.
• Aldosterone inhibitors. Block aldosterone. Aldosterone is a hormone in the body that causes the body to retain, or hold on to, sodium and water.
• Vasoactive agents. Widen or relax the walls of the blood vessels. ACE inhibitors, angiotensin II receptor blockers, nitroglycerin, and calcium channel blockers are all vasoactive drugs.
• Digoxin. Makes the heart pump more strongly. It may also help control certain types of irregular heartbeats.
• Cardiac devices set in the body such as special pacemakers and/or defibrillators:
• Pacemakers are used to help the heart pump better.
• Defibrillators are used to correct a dangerous abnormal heart rhythm. If the heart stops, a defibrillator can help jump start it.