The staff at the UPMC Heart Failure Clinic in Central Pa. will work with you and your family to develop a plan to help you live with heart failure.
If you participate in our Heart Failure Center, you will be supervised and treated wherever you are -- whether you are in the hospital, at a skilled nursing facility, or at home.
We have three dedicated Heart Failure inpatient units (7th floor at UPMC Harrisburg, WS3 at UPMC West Shore and CG4 at UPMC Community Osteopathic Hospital). Plus three other nursing units with telemetry at UPMC Harrisburg for inpatient heart failure care.
If you are admitted to the hospital, a nurse navigator from the Heart Failure Center will follow your progress, help determine why you were hospitalized, and assist the health care team to develop a plan for your return home. The nurse navigators work with the health care team to identify any personal barriers that may prevent you from following your plan of care for your heart failure, such as inability to afford your medications, lack of transportation, no close family, visual problems, etc.
All heart failure patients need outpatient and follow-up care. You should see your primary care physician (PCP), cardiologist, or nurse practitioner in the Heart Failure Center within 5-7 days of being discharged from the hospital. At UPMC, the case managers can assist you to make this appointment. In addition, our nurse navigators will call any agency (home care, skilled nursing facility, rehab, etc.) that is responsible for your care upon discharge to coordinate your heart failure care.
With proper treatment, many heart failure patients can live healthy lives for years. However, you can play an important role in keeping yourself healthy:
After you are discharged from the hospital, it is important to recognize your individual symptoms of heart failure and know how to deal with them. The Heart Failure Program uses the STOPLIGHT (PDF). The stoplight has green, yellow, and red days.
This is your baseline and your GOAL. A green day describes a day when you feel your best. You need to pick an activity you can always do on your best day and identify your symptoms on this day, if any. As your heart failure progresses, green day activities will change.
WARNING ZONE (unique to each patient).
EMERGENCY ZONE go to emergency room or call 911 immediately.
Heart failure can cause your body to hold water weight, so it's important to keep track of how much you weigh. Weigh yourself and record your weight each morning before you eat breakfast. Before you weigh yourself, empty your bladder and try to wear the same amount of clothing each time you weigh in. You should notify your doctor if:
Too much fluid in your body can make it harder for your already-weakened heart to pump. If fluids have built up in your lungs and other parts of your body, such as your legs and stomach, your physician will order medicine (a diuretic) to help get rid of extra fluids. He or she also may suggest that you limit your liquid intake so that your body can get rid of the extra water and sodium.
If you are at home, you should limit your fluid intake to six cups per day. If you are in the hospital, your nurses and patient care assistants (PCAs) will write down your intake (how much fluid you consume) and output (how much you urinate). You can help by:
Too much salt (or sodium) causes fluid to build up in your body. You must follow a low-salt diet. If you are in the hospital, you should only eat the food that is on your tray and check with your nurse or PCA before eating anything else. If you are at home, you should not add extra salt to your food and avoid salty foods.
When you are living with heart failure, it is important to take good care of yourself in other ways, including:
Each year at your annual physician appointment, you should discuss your heart failure with your doctor and determine if it is progressing. Here are some questions you should ask:
As heart failure progresses, it is very important to share your wishes with your family.
The heart failure specialists at UPMC Heart and Vascular Institute will provide you with the information, education, and resources you need to live successfully with heart failure, including:
Phone: 717-231-8445
UPMC Advanced Heart Failure Center
Located at Medical Office Building 2
2005 Technology Parkway
Suite 300
Mechanicsburg, PA 17050
Phone: 717-231-8445
UPMC Advanced Heart Failure Center
Located at UPMC Harrisburg
111 South Front Street
2nd floor
Harrisburg, PA 17101
Phone: 717-231-8445
Fax: 717-231-8459
UPMC Advanced Heart Failure Center
Located at UPMC Outpatient Services
Formerly known as Bloom Outpatient Center
4310 Londonderry Road
2nd floor
Harrisburg, PA 17109
Phone: 717-920-4201
Fax: 717-920-4269
UPMC Heart and Vascular Institute
360 Alexander Spring Road
Carlisle, PA 17013
Adult Cardiology: 717-243-6557
Pediatric Cardiology: 717-761-0200
Fax: 717-243-0102
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