Congestive Heart Failure

Congestive Heart Failure

Congestive heart failure (CHF) is a condition in which the heart cannot pump enough oxygenated blood to meet the needs of the body's other organs. The heart keeps pumping, but not as efficiently as a healthy heart. The term "heart failure" doesn’t mean that your heart has stopped or is about to stop working. However, heart failure is a serious condition that requires medical care.

Our Team

Our area’s only freestanding hospital for heart and vascular care, Baptist Heart Hospital is the centerpiece of our top-ranked heart and vascular program. It is home to more than 500 physicians, nurses and staff – all with specialized training in providing inpatient and outpatient cardiovascular care. Our comprehensive care also includes nutritionists, social service coordinators, patient and family educators, and home health therapists.

Outpatient Congestive Heart Failure Clinic

Baptist Heart Hospital is home to the region’s only Outpatient Congestive Heart Failure Clinic. Conditions such as coronary artery disease, heart attack, high blood pressure, damaged heart valves or heart muscle, congenital heart defects, arrhythmia and more can result in the heart becoming too weak or stiff to pump blood efficiently. The clinic helps patients manage quality of life issues such as inability to sleep comfortably, shortness of breath and related respiratory problems. One aspect of treatment is the education of patients on detecting the escalating symptoms of CHF so that action can be taken early.

A Regional Resource

All four Baptist Health hospitals are connected to Baptist Heart Hospital via:

• Life Flight - Baptist Health’s air ambulance service
• Electronic health data shared among all four Baptist Health community hospitals
• A single electronic medical record, for immediate access to the patient’s information at all Baptist locations
• Highly coordinated care in collaboration with community emergency medical services (EMS) teams