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Receiving the diagnosis of heart failure can feel dire. You might worry about how having this chronic condition will impact you and your family. Learning more about your specific case may reduce the unknowns and ease your mind about what to expect.

Many patients live for decades after their diagnosis with good quality of life. Still, dealing with the realities of a chronic condition can impact how you feel physically and emotionally.

Feelings of depression are common, affecting heart failure patients. Your physician might ask you about mood symptoms with a brief questionnaire and refer you for further care if the screening suggests depression, which can make it harder to keep up with medication and lifestyle measures to help your condition.

Most antidepressants are safe in patients with heart disease. Studies have suggested that a type of talk therapy known as is effective for heart failure patients and reduces the risk of hospitalization over the course of a year. Exercise -- whether by regular walks, group exercise, or attending cardiac rehabilitation -- also improves mood symptoms and overall health.

Don't forget how much good being around others, especially those who live with the same condition, can do. Support groups not only lend a listening ear but also provide practical advice and even inspiration. These can be found through local and national organizations, such as hospitals and community organizations or your local chapter of the nonprofit group . Aside from in-person groups, online groups found through social media or virtual networks like those of the can provide support wherever you are.

Talk with your medical team about what resources might be available locally to support you in your journey with heart failure.

Read previous installments in this series:

For Your Patients: What is Heart Failure?

For Your Patients: How Is Heart Failure Diagnosed?

For Your Patients: Getting the Most From Heart Failure Visits

For Your Patients: Self-Care for Heart Failure

For Your Patients: What to Expect From Cardiac Rehabilitation

For Your Patients: Managing Heart Failure With Other Chronic Conditions

For Your Patients: Heart Failure Device Therapy

For Your Patients: Making the Most of Heart Failure Medication

"Medical Journeys" is a set of clinical resources reviewed by doctors, meant for physicians and other healthcare professionals as well as the patients they serve. Each episode of this journey through a disease state contains both a physician guide and a downloadable/printable patient resource. "Medical Journeys" chart a path each step of the way for physicians and patients and provide continual resources and support, as the caregiver team navigates the course of a disease.