What should I do if I have a cold with heart failure?

Written by Liu Ying

Cardiology

Updated on March 14, 2025

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Infections are a primary cause of worsening heart failure. Patients with heart failure who catch a cold should treat the cold, and if the cold exacerbates the heart failure, they should also treat the heart failure simultaneously. Patients with heart failure should always try to avoid infections by regularly ventilating their living spaces, avoiding crowded places prone to cross-infections, and dressing appropriately for the weather. Additionally, patients should engage in appropriate exercise to boost their immune system, but they must balance activity and rest.

Other Voices

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Written by Wang Chun Mei

Pulmonology

46sec

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Can you eat watermelon when you have a cold?

A cold, also commonly referred to as an upper respiratory tract infection, can generally be categorized into cold-natured and heat-natured types. If it occurs in winter, it is usually a cold-natured cold, and patients with this type are generally not recommended to eat watermelon. On the other hand, a heat-natured cold in summer typically presents symptoms such as runny nose, nasal congestion, fever, headache, sore throat, coughing, and even coughing up yellow phlegm. Patients with such symptoms can eat watermelon, as it can not only hydrate the body but also cool it down and provide some essential nutrients, making it suitable for patients with a heat-natured cold.

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Written by Li Jian Wu

Pulmonology

31sec

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Can you eat grapefruit when you have a cold?

If you have a common cold, you can eat grapefruit. Grapefruit is rich in vitamins and can enhance the body's immunity and its ability to resist viral colds. You can eat some grapefruit in moderation during a cold, but it is not recommended to consume too much as it can burden the gastrointestinal tract. During a cold, the body is relatively weak, so it is important to eat a light and reasonable diet, consume more light fruits and vegetables, and avoid overly greasy, spicy, and irritating foods.

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Written by Wang Chun Mei

Pulmonology

1min 5sec

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Do common colds cause headaches?

The common cold, also known as an upper respiratory tract infection, clinically can present with headaches. This mainly occurs because the onset of an upper respiratory tract infection is often acute, with patients typically experiencing varying degrees of fever due to viral, bacterial, or other pathogenic infections, which also leads to headaches of varying intensity, possibly even dizziness. In addition, patients may experience nasal congestion, runny nose, sneezing, and general fatigue among other clinical symptoms. Therefore, it is very common for a common cold to cause headaches. For such patients, it is first necessary to identify the type of pathogen involved, and then provide appropriate antiviral, anti-infection treatments, and fever reduction. With these symptomatic treatments, the headache caused by the common cold will naturally subside.

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Written by Li Jian Wu

Pulmonology

39sec

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How to clear a stuffy nose from a cold?

If the symptoms of nasal congestion due to a cold are mild, you can use a hot compress, such as applying a hot towel to the forehead or nose to relieve the congestion. Massaging the temples can also relieve nasal congestion and alleviate cold symptoms. If the nasal congestion from a cold is severe, you can take some cold medicines to alleviate the symptoms. You can also apply a nasal strip at the base of the nose to quickly relieve congestion. Another quick method to clear the airways is to use the steam from hot water to fumigate the nasal passages, which can effectively relieve nasal congestion. During a cold, it is also beneficial to drink more carrot water.

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Written by Zhang Ying Ying

Traditional Chinese Medicine

53sec

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Is a wind-heat cold contagious?

In traditional Chinese medicine, a cold caused by wind-heat is seen as resulting from the combination of wind and heat pathogens. The symptoms include fever with relatively high heat signs, slight aversion to wind, not much sweating, headache, facial redness, coughing, sticky or yellow phlegm, thick yellow nasal discharge, dry throat or red and swollen throat, and other symptoms such as swollen and painful throat, nasal congestion, and dry mouth. The wind-heat type of cold in Chinese medicine generally corresponds to what is considered the common cold and influenza in Western medicine, both of which are recognized as viral infections. Therefore, the wind-heat cold is contagious, and patients should maintain a certain distance from others.