Explore Heart & VascularHeart Failure
What Is Heart Failure?
Heart failure is a condition in which the heart can’t pump enough blood to meet the body’s needs. In some cases, the heart can’t fill with enough blood. In other cases, the heart can’t pump blood to the rest of the body with enough force. Some people have both problems. Heart failure affects over 5.7 million individuals in the United States, with over half a million new cases diagnosed yearly.
Experts at the UConn Health Calhoun Cardiology Center are dedicated to every aspect of diagnosing and treating heart failure. Our services include cutting-edge technologies such as cardiac MRI, bypass surgery, angioplasty, and implantable cardiac defibrillators. We also utilize the latest research advances in one-on-one patient and family education by our skilled physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and nursing staff. Patients diagnosed with heart failure do best when closely monitored by a team of doctors and nurses with a specialized focus on their condition.
Our program prides itself on accessibility, and patients with new or worsening heart failure symptoms can often be seen within hours of contacting us. This frequently eliminates the need for emergency room care. We also offer an outpatient Heart Failure Infusion Clinic for patients who require high-dose diuretics to eliminate excess fluid, reduce symptoms, and prevent hospitalizations.
Our Heart Failure Center, part of the Calhoun Cardiology Center, has been nationally recognized by the American Heart Association for its high-quality care. Additionally, the UConn John Dempsey Hospital consistently scores in the top tier of institutions nationwide for heart failure core measures, an assessment of overall hospital quality for heart failure.
Patient Stories
UConn Health Minute: Precision Heart Failure Care
Heart failure affects more than seven million Americans and for many it’s not due to bad habits such as smoking or not eating right. UConn Health and The Jackson Laboratory are taking a new approach and focusing on personalized care based on a patient’s genetic profile.
Causes & Conditions
Our specialists are highly trained in the many conditions associated with heart failure. Our cardiologists work in collaboration with cardiac genetics and arrhythmia services to identify and treat familial causes of heart disease, and we offer genetic typing and access to neurologists who specialize in amyloid involvement of the nerves.
Additional causes or risk factors for heart failure include:
- High blood pressure
- Obesity
- Sleep apnea
- Valvular heart disease
- Coronary artery disease
- Heart attack
- Smoking
- Lung disease
- Arrhythmias
- Alcohol and drug use
- Diseases of the heart muscle (cardiomyopathies)
We work to address risk factors and underlying causes of heart failure through patient education, risk modification, and collaboration with other specialties to ensure comprehensive care.
Symptoms
Despite the different causes and conditions of heart failure, the symptoms often include:
F = Fatigue. Tiredness or fatigue will occur as the heart can’t pump enough blood to meet the body’s needs.
A = Activity limitation. Unable to complete usual activities due to shortness of breath or fatigue.
C = Congestion. Fluid buildup in the lungs can cause wheezing, coughing, and difficulty breathing.
E = Edema or swelling. Fluid can back up and collect in the feet, ankles, legs, or belly. It can also cause rapid weight gain of 2-3 pounds overnight or 5 pounds in 1 week.
S = Shortness of breath. Difficulty breathing may occur at rest, with activity, or when lying flat. You may also wake up in the middle of the night short of breath.
Treatment
The Heart Failure Center provides every heart failure patient with the latest therapies for their condition including:
- Cardiac stents
- Implantable cardiac defibrillators (ICDs)
- Bi-ventricular pacemakers
- CardioMEMS Program: Implantation of a pressure monitoring device, which is accessed remotely to improve management of fluid levels and decrease the number of hospital stays
- Directed Medical Therapy Clinic: Close follow-up with our nurse practitioners who specialize in heart failure to facilitate getting patients on appropriate medical therapy for heart failure at goal doses
- A wide range of medications, including the availability of outpatient intravenous medications
- Outpatient intravenous diuretic and inotrope administration
- Evaluation and referral for advanced heart failure therapies
Self-Managing Your Health
We also offer our patients a number of ways they can manage their own health, including:
- Weighing yourself every morning and tracking your weights to check for weight gain caused by increased fluid.
- Taking your medications exactly as prescribed.
- Keeping a list of your medications to bring to doctors’ appointments.
- If you smoke, quit.
- Following a healthy, reduced-sodium diet.
- Reducing or eliminating alcohol intake.
- Getting regular exercise, unless otherwise directed by your doctor.
- Taking rest breaks when you need to.
- If you are overweight, speaking to your doctor about weight-loss options.
- Learning how to manage your heart failure and knowing your risks.
- Finding ways to live a healthier life with heart failure
Our patients also have access to our Heart Failure Infusion Clinic, an outpatient resource available if they are struggling with retaining extra fluid, which could lead to hospitalization, reduced quality of life, and other negative outcomes.
Because the Heart Failure Center is part of an academic medical center, patients also have access to the latest heart failure clinical trials.
Inpatient Care
At UConn John Dempsey Hospital, the most advanced cardiac tools are used to assess patients with heart failure, including:
- Echocardiograms
- Cardiac CT scans
- Cardiac magnetic resonance images (MRIs)
- Coronary angiography
- Coronary angioplasty and stenting
- Open heart surgery
Heart failure experts provide a personalized care plan based on a careful assessment of a patient’s condition and needs. Additionally, comprehensive education is provided by nurse practitioners, staff nurses, and our dedicated heart failure nurse, all of whom have extensive experience and training in heart failure education. Education is personalized to each individual patient, their risk factors, and their individual needs. We also collaborate with other departments, including social work, case management, and physical therapy, to ensure patient needs are met in a holistic manner.
Hospital to Home
At UConn John Dempsey Hospital, care does not end upon discharge. We are committed to helping patients transition safely back home. All heart failure patients will be scheduled for a follow-up appointment before hospital discharge to ensure continuity of care and minimize the risk of hospital readmission. After heart failure patients leave the hospital, we provide 24/7 telephone access to our cardiac nurses and cardiologists. This is an extension of the hospital treatment and a key component of caring for heart failure patients. At the follow-up visit, critical healthy-living concepts are reviewed, such as weight monitoring and salt avoidance. This is also a crucial time for re-evaluating and monitoring for side effects of new medications.
Heart Disease Support Group
UConn Health’s Calhoun Cardiology Center invites patients diagnosed with heart failure, their families, and caregivers to a monthly support group meeting to discuss issues surrounding living with heart failure.
Discussion Topics
- Self-care activities
- Coping methods
- Heart-healthy diet
- Managing other chronic conditions
- Additional resources
When: Third Wednesday of every month, Noon to 1 p.m.
Where: UConn Health, Cardiology Conference Room (just past Cardiology Clinic), 300 UConn Health Boulevard, 2nd Floor, Farmington, CT (Directions)
For further information, please contact Kristen Cannata, MSN, RN, UConn Health Heart Failure Coordinator, at 860-679-4627.