Heart Failure Clinic in Elizabethtown, KY
Baptist Health Hardin: The Heart Failure Clinic
Baptist Health Hardin has a leading heart failure treatment clinic that provides complete care for patients with heart failure. Learn more about the clinic.
The team approach to Heart Failure Clinic in Elizabethtown, KY, HealthTalks Transcript:
Prabodh Mehta, MD:
Heart failure is a condition where the heart muscle does not provide enough circulation to the body and does not deliver enough oxygen and other nutrients. At the Heart Failure Clinic, we see patients who have been discharged from the hospital after having an admission for heart failure. When a patient comes to our clinic, they first are examined [and] then we look at their medications and decide what medications need to be changed or optimized. There have been lots of studies that have shown that, if you titrate medications optimally in a short period of time, the outcome is better than doing it over longer period of time.
Secondly, we educate the patient. Patients need to understand their condition. Most patients don't, so we explain to them what their condition is, what things they need to do, and what things they should not do, so they understand their condition and act on it. If you have buy-in from a patient, then they're more likely to take their medications.
The most important thing to recognize is heart failure diagnosis is occurring more and more often. The prevalence of the disease is going up. We are going to have a large group of patients who need specialized care. We are trying to do the best we can to optimize their care, improve their lifestyle, and possibly increase their lifespan.
