Do I need to avoid alcohol?

In general, regular consumption of alcohol is discouraged for people with heart failure, since alcohol may worsen cardiac function if used in excess. The amount of alcohol that is safe to drink for any given person with heart failure is unclear, so most clinicians recommend either abstaining from alcohol altogether, or limiting alcohol consumption to small quantities (for example, one standard drink) on special occasions. Your doctor may sanction higher levels of alcohol consumption depending on the severity of your disease, but this would need to be on a case by case basis.