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Helping unhealthy hearts

Just a few weeks ago, David Schram couldn't lie down to sleep because so much fluid had built up in his lungs due to his congestive heart failure. “I'd cough all night,” he said.
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From left are Dr. Atilio Costa-Vitali, medical director of the Heart Failure Disease Management Program, David Schram, a patient in the program, and Anne-Marie Savage, a registered nurse who works at the program. Photo by Heidi Ulrichsen.

Just a few weeks ago, David Schram couldn't lie down to sleep because so much fluid had built up in his lungs due to his congestive heart failure.

“I'd cough all night,” he said.

Thanks to treatment he received through Health Sciences North's Heart Failure Disease Management Program, which has been operating since August 2011, Schram is now able to get a good night's sleep again.

Staff at the outpatient program administered drugs which helped Schram to shed about seven pounds of fluid from his body over three days.

“I felt really good for at least a week,” 61-year-old Schram, who was diagnosed with congestive heart failure a little over a year ago, said.

“I guess (the fluid) is starting to build up again, but I still feel better than I did then.”

Congestive heart failure refers to the inability of the heart to pump blood as effectively as it should, meaning tissues of the body are not receiving enough blood and oxygen.

The condition leads to an increase in pressure in the blood vessels, which forces fluid from these vessels into body tissues and organs such as the lungs, legs and feet.

Schram can't say enough about what the heart failure program is doing for him.
“It's keeping me alive,” he said.

Beyond the treatment he's received at the outpatient clinic, Schram said he's also received a lot of education from the clinic's staff.

From left are Dr. Atilio Costa-Vitali, medical director of the Heart Failure Disease Management Program, David Schram, a patient in the program, and Anne-Marie Savage, a registered nurse who works at the program. Photo by Heidi Ulrichsen.

From left are Dr. Atilio Costa-Vitali, medical director of the Heart Failure Disease Management Program, David Schram, a patient in the program, and Anne-Marie Savage, a registered nurse who works at the program. Photo by Heidi Ulrichsen.

For example, congestive heart failure patients are warned to avoid salt because it makes their condition worse.

“(My family doctor said) no salt,” he said.

“I thought that no salt means to take the salt shaker away. But (staff at the heart failure clinic) showed me how much salt is in every other food we eat. You've got to be really careful of all processed foods, because it's loaded with salt, which makes you retain water.”

Schram said staff have also advised him not to drink more than 1,500 millitres of fluid in a day.

“You have to be very, very careful or else you go over top of that quickly,” he said.

He's also been enrolled in a cardiac rehab program, where he exercises four times a week to strengthen his heart.

Schram said his medical condition is also closely monitored by clinic staff at his monthly appointment. In between appointments, he receives automated phone calls from the hospital, reminding him of how he can take better care of himself.

Patients are referred to the program through family physicians, cardiac specialists and through the hospital's emergency department.

Since its launch last year, the heart failure clinic has received referrals for more than 230 patients.

The program's goals include improving quality of life for chronic heart failure patients, decreasing how often they visit the emergency department and decreasing their hospital admission and readmission rates.

Dr. Atilio Costa-Vitali, the medical director of the Heart Failure Disease Management Program, said the program was set up after the hospital realized 50 per cent of congestive heart failure patients discharged from the hospital were readmitted within a month.

He said staff investigate the reasons behind the patient's heart failure and the severity of their condition, put them on a “therapeutic program,” and help patients care for themselves.

“We give these patients an action plan, and through this action plan, we want to give these patients quality and quantity of life.”

At the same time, Costa-Vitali said it's also important to prevent congestive heart failure in the first place through living healthy lifestyles.

“Heart failure is a disease that is 100-per-cent preventable,” he said.

Heart Month:
Each February, the Heart and Stroke Foundation promotes Heart Month, a campaign that mobilizes Canadians to rally together in raising awareness and funds that have an enormous impact on the lives of not just heart and stroke patients, but all Canadians.

For more information, visit www.heartandstroke.com.

Posted by Arron Pickard 

 


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Heidi Ulrichsen

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