The Heart Failure Clinic at Cardiology Associates of North Mississippi
08/16/2004.
Heart failure is a progressive condition affecting at least five million Americans. It causes the lower chambers of the heart to lose the ability to pump sufficient blood to meet the needs of the circulatory system. Of these five million, 20 percent will experience sudden cardiac arrest. Unfortunately, only 45 percent of patients with congestive heart failure receive optimal drug and device therapy.
In order to help address the needs of area CHF patients, Cardiology Associates of North Mississippi has developed a comprehensive Congestive Heart Failure clinic. Spearheaded by Dr. Mark Strong, the clinic is modeled after a similar heart failure clinic in Dallas, Texas where Dr. Strong worked with AHA physician
of the year, Dr. Clyde Yancy. Dr. Strong is assisted by Chris Bell, CRNP. The goals of the clinic are to:
AGGRESSIVELY TREAT HEART FAILURE. We want to allow a patient’s heart to work as well as it can, so they may get the most out of life. A diagnosis of heart failure no longer means becoming a “cardiac cripple.”
HAVE YOU and YOUR PATIENT BECOME A PARTNER with us in treating heart failure. The better your patient understands how the heart works, how medications help the ailing heart, and how to carefully monitor progress, the better they will feel.
PARTICIPATE IN RESEARCH. We are actively involved in ongoing heart failure research studies. We often invite our patients to participate in these clinical trials. By staying on the cutting edge of research, we feel we are able to treat heart failure in the best possible way using the latest information available worldwide.
TO EDUCATE AND TRAIN. We hope to offer primary care providers with the most up-to-date information about the treatment of heart failure.
“Heart failure clinics have been shown to work across the United States,” said Chris Bell, CHF Clinic coordinator. “We hope to duplicate what other places have seen.”
Congestive heart failure patients often have other physical problems associated with the disease. In addition to CHF-specific admissions and hospital stays decreasing, admissions for other illnesses also decreased significantly. Dr. Strong said one reason for this success is that getting care at the CHF Clinic keeps patients in better shape overall.
“When we keep our patients’ heart failure under control, the primary care physicians can do a better job of keeping other problems under control as well,” Strong said. “Our patients are more fine-tuned so that when they do have to go to the hospital, it doesn’t take as long to get the problem back under control.”
Depending on the severity of their condition, CHF patients visit the clinic about every six weeks for medicine, education, and monitoring. In between times, their health is tracked via telemanagement when Bell may call to check on their weight and clinical status, whether they are taking their medicines and what they’ve been eating.
To schedule your patient for an assessment in the Congestive Heart Failure Clinic, please call 662-620-6800.