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Questions? Call Services We Provide
Our team at the UPMC Western Maryland Center for Clinical Resources helps by:
- Providing education and support
- Monitoring symptoms of heart failure
- Assisting with risk factor modification
- Managing medications
Who Benefits from the Program?
The clinic is for individuals who have been diagnosed with heart failure or a “weak ” heart muscle. Weakness of the heart muscle often follows heart attacks or uncontrolled high blood pressure. Other terms used to describe this include systolic dysfunction, diastolic dysfunction, or reduced ejection fraction.
What are the Benefits?
- Increased knowledge of your disease and how to manage it
- Improved ability to carry out activities of daily living
- Improved quality of life
- Reduced number of trips to the emergency room and admissions to the hospital
- Improved outlook and emotional stability
How Does the Clinic Work?
The Clinic is designed to provide you and your family with education about your condition and how to control symptoms of heart failure. Our goal is to reduce the number of visits to the Emergency Room, prevent hospitalizations, and help you live a full and productive life.
Your first visit will last about 90 minutes and includes a history and physical exam, weight and vital sign recording, a 6-minute walk test to determine activity tolerance, and completion of a survey to determine how heart failure symptoms are affecting your life.
After your first visit, most visits last about 30 minutes and include weight recording, review of medications, basic assessments, and education, which can be done individually and in a group setting.
In addition to clinic visits, you will also be encouraged to call us if you have any questions or have worsening of symptoms related to heart failure. The Clinic staff will also contact you to follow up on any changes in medications or in your symptoms.
How Do I Enroll?
Call the UPMC Western Maryland Center for Clinical Resources at 240-964-8787 to let us know that you are interested in participating or talk with your physician.