Adjusting to life after a heart event is challenging. Heart disease is complex and few patients and their caregivers experience it the same way. There may be appointments to track, new medicines to take, lifestyle changes to make, and many other issues to consider.

Luckily, you are not alone. Take the Mended Hearts HeartGuide with you on your journey to a healthy heart. Use it to navigate the world of heart disease and as a tool to take charge of your health now and plan for the future.

This guide is just one way that Mended Hearts, the nation’s largest peer-to-peer support group for heart patients, assists patients and caregivers—from the time of a heart disease diagnosis through recovery. Founded on the principles of service, charity, and partnership, Mended Hearts is a physician-endorsed network providing social, emotional, and practical support to patients and their loved ones throughout the United States.

At Mended Hearts, we know that one-on-one support and encouragement improve outcomes for heart patients. That’s why our thousands of Mended Hearts volunteers visit hospital rooms and rehabilitation clinics throughout the country, host regular support groups at more than 300 community-based chapters, and provide online and phone visits, all to help you get back on your feet.

Mended Hearts’ trained, accredited visitors conduct this work with the support of hospitals and clinics, serving nearly 215,000 patients and caregivers annually. We listen to you, share our experiences, and empathize with your concerns and those of your loved ones.

Just like Mended Hearts itself, our HeartGuide is a resource created for heart patients, by heart patients. Specialists in cardiovascular treatment and care—physicians, nurses, dietitians, and pharmacists—reviewed its content. You and your loved ones can use it to learn about recovery and health, heart disease, risk factors and symptoms of cardiovascular disease, treatment options, lifestyle and diet changes, and more. Learn more at www.mendedhearts.org.

To get started, you can browse the HeartGuide through the menu, click the "Go!" button below, or click here to download the HeartGuide in PDF format.