Module 9 Pull Down Navigation - Select a Page to View ------------------- Introduction What is an Advance Care Plan? Importance of an Advance Care Plan Advance Care Plan Components Getting Started on an Advance Care Plan Questions for Your Doctor or Nurse Discussions with Your Doctor or Nurse Making Care Choices as Heart Failure Progresses What to Do with Your Advance Care Plan Changing Your Mind Care for the Caretakers Terms Commonly Used in Advance Care Planning Learn More About Heart Failure

Discussions with Your Doctor or Nurse

Your doctor or nurse will also want to learn about your concerns, goals, and values during the advance care planning process, so they can provide the care that is right for you. Some of the questions they may ask include:

• What is your understanding of heart failure?
  
  
• What does quality of life mean to you?
  
  
• What are your hopes?
  
  
• What, if anything, are your fears? What are you most afraid of?
  
  
• What would be left undone if you were to die today?
  
  
• Has faith important to you at specific times of your life?
  
  
• What has provided the most meaning in your life?
  
  
• Can you imagine a time when it would not be worth it to stay alive?
  
  
• Which heart failure symptoms bother you the most?
  
  
• What practical problems is your heart failure creating for you?
  
  
• Do you have effective methods for treating your symptoms of heart failure?
  
  
• Is there a specific resource you use (person, place, thing) to help you feel better?
  
  
• If you have lost family members or other loved ones, what was that like for you?
  
  
• Are there family members who need to know what is going on?
  
  

To prepare for a discussion of advance care planning with your doctor or nurse, you may wish to write down the answers to these questions.