SAN RAMON, Calif., June 26 /PRNewswire/ — Finally there is some good news for heart failure patients. Almost 50,000 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with heart failure each month, and now there is a “one-stop” website where they can satisfy their hunger for information: www.HeartFailureCenter.com.
HeartFailureCenter.com was created as a comprehensive effort to consolidate the Internet’s massive amount of information on this disease into one unique online location. The new site is replete with a wide variety of information, from a patient health survey, heart condition information, treatment options and regional resource directories, to an extensive article library, blog, chat room, and the latest news and media clips featuring top experts in the field. There is even a printable list of “Questions to ask your Doctor,” a tool to help patients make the most of their medical visits.
The new site provides information that can help empower individuals to receive the “best fit” cardiac healthcare available, according to Kent Richards, Vice President. “The objective of this site is to help people explore their options … to educate, and to provide one, user-friendly source with hard-to-find facts about heart failure,” Richards said. “Dealing with heart failure can be overwhelming and requires a multi-faceted approach. We’re supplying individuals with critical information, enabling them to make educated treatment decisions.” If patients don’t know where to find care, the website can also help them research providers in their area.
More than five million Americans currently suffer from Heart Failure (HF), with more than 550,000 additional cases occurring annually. Men and women are afflicted in the same numbers, and the disease occurs most often in the elderly (affecting more than 10 percent of people over the age of 70). HF is the most common hospital discharge diagnosis for patients over 65. This disease is the single largest expense for Medicare, and the total heart failure treatment budget nationwide is estimated to be $28 billion.
Heart Failure, also known as Congestive Heart Failure, is a progressive, disabling condition where the heart is unable to supply the body with adequate blood circulation. As forward blood flow becomes insufficient, the blood backs up into the lungs, adding shortness of breath to the symptoms, hence the term “congestive.” In an attempt to compensate, the overworked heart becomes an enlarged, ineffective pump. HF is an insidious disease; symptoms can occur gradually, but often will rapidly progress.
Heart failure patients with less severe symptoms are treated with diet, exercise and medications; but at all stages, lifestyle changes are mandatory. (These necessary changes are stressed on the new website.) As the disease progresses, more aggressive therapy is required. This could include interventional procedures like stenting, angioplasty or bypass surgery to increase the coronary artery blood supply. In many patients, placement of pacing devices can improve heart function. Surgical repair or replacement of damaged heart valves is also an option in some cases, and Left Ventricular Reconstruction is a possibility in many patients. Ventricular assist devices (VADs) are an emerging technology with promise for end-stage patients, and of course, heart transplant is an alternative for a select number of patients in this category. Information on more advanced HF treatment options is also a feature of the new site.
For more information contact Wendy Gries, Marketing Manager, Wendy@HeartFailureCenter.com or (925) 830-1038.