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New Clinic Offers Specialized Care
The human heart beats 2.5 billion times in the average lifetime. Everyday, around the clock, your heart is doing the job was designed to do. But if the heart should become diseased or damaged, its ability to pump oxygen-rich blood throughout the body may become impaired. This syndrome is called congestive heart failure (CHF).
Ineffective pumping by the heart can result in blood accumulating or "congesting" in the lungs and other parts of the body. Symptoms include fatigue, shortness of breath and a decreased capacity for exercise or other activities. "This has a marked impact upon lifestyle," explains John Rowley, P.A., of Bassett Healthcare's Cardiology department. "Fortunately, in the last few years there have been significant improvements in how we treat congestive heart failure."
Bassett Healthcare's new Heart Failure Clinic in Cooperstown treats CHF with a combination of lifestyle modifications and drug therapies. The specialized care of CHF patients is important, because they have a chronic condition that requires a lot of monitoring. Heart Failure Clinic provides more services than the traditional cardiology clinic with consistent and frequent follow up care.
Treatment at the Heart Failure Clinic might include modifying a patient's diet or activities. Generally, a low-sodium, low-fat diet is recommended along with avoidance of tobacco or heavy alcohol use. Medications may include diuretics to reduce the accumulation of fluids that can cause symptoms of heart failure.
Another class of drugs, called ACE inhibitors, works in concert with the diuretic. ACE inhibitors block the production of a chemical that causes blood vessels to narrow, blood pressure to drop and the heart to work harder.
Beta blockers are a third drug commonly used to treat CHF. According to Rowley beta blockers were once thought to have a negative effect on heart failure. However, they have now been shown to decrease heart failure deaths. Other drugs may be used, but these are the mainstays of treatment.
Specialized care can have a significant impact on the life of a patient with CHF. It can mean the difference between being able to enjoy normal daily activities or not being able to take care of oneself. Frequent hospital admissions and visits to the emergency room may also be avoided. The goal is to to help people live longer and better with their heart disease.
For more information, call Bassett Healthcare at 607-547-3180 or toll-free at 1-800-BASSETT (1-800-227-7388). | 
