Congestive heart failure (CHF) is defined as inability of the heart to either 1. Contract with enough force to eject an appropriate amount of blood to the body or 2. Relax appropriately to allow the heart to fill properly and eject an appropriate amount of blood to the body. When this happens blood backs up in the lungs or fluid retention occurs causing swelling of the legs and weight gain.

Water pills, also known as diuretics, are a type of medication used to treat multiple medical problems including high blood pressure, congestive heart failure, and fluid retention. As a matter of fact, diuretics are probably the most effective means of providing symptomatic relief for people who are in symptomatic congestive heart failure. These medications act on various locations within the kidneys causing increased loss of body water through urination. 

Your health care provider may prescribe a category of medication called a calcium channel blocker (CCB) for multiple medical conditions including high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, and abnormal heart rhythm. Commonly prescribed CCB’s include amlodipine, nifedipine, felodipine, and diltiazem.

Beta blockers are a class of medication that your health care provider may provide to treat one or more medical conditions including high blood pressure, heart disease, abnormal heart rhythms, and congestive heart failure. There are other reasons that a beta blocker may be prescribed for you including migraine headaches, tremors, and anxiety. You can easily determine if you have been prescribed a beta blocker by identifying the letters -lol at the end of the medications generic name.