The number of medications your health care provider will recommend for heart failure depends partly on your ejection fraction.

For people with an ejection fraction of 40 per cent or less (a reduced ejection fraction, or HFrEF) taking four specific types of medications together is called quadruple therapy, or “guideline-directed medical therapy” (GDMT). When you take them together, they can add five to eight years to your life.

Once you start these four medications, you could see improvements after a month, but it may take many months before you feel their full benefits. Typically, when starting these medications, you will start with low doses and your health-care provider will gradually increase the dose, usually over three to six months.