In addition to closely monitoring the effectiveness of your treatments, we want to help you understand your condition and your therapy by providing information regarding medications, pacemakers, and implantable cardiac defibrillators. We discuss lifestyle issues that significantly affect your health, such as diet and exercise. We are also here to answer any additional questions you may have.

A Serious Condition
Congestive heart failure is a serious condition resulting from a failure of the heart to maintain adequate circulation of blood. Symptoms of this disease can include shortness of breath, fluid accumulation in body tissues, and enlargement of the heart. Hypertension, viral infections, heart valve diseases, coronary artery disease, and weakening of the heart muscle due to old age can all lead to this condition.

Special Attention
A congestive heart failure patient requires special attention due to the damage done to the pumping ability of his or her heart. A normally functioning heart compensates for the fluctuations in diet and activity we all experience throughout the day. The damaged heart is not so resilient, though. Routine stresses can sometimes result in a hospital stay. By closely following patients and evaluating their therapies, the staff of the Congestive Heart Failure Clinic can delay and sometimes prevent the need for hospitalization.

New Therapies Bring Improved Quality of Life
Each day brings more good news for those suffering from heart-related diseases. Recent advances in therapy include a new class of medication that significantly slows the progression of congestive heart failure. Physicians are using cardiac pacemakers to help provide a consistent pumping rate for the damaged heart. Implantable cardiac defibrillators provide protection for congestive heart failure patients who also suffer from abnormal and potentially lethal heart rhythms.