Mercy Heart & Vascular Institute offers you a complete program to stabilize atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (CVD). Nearly half of all Americans die from CVD. That's more than all cancer, infection and accident deaths combined. CVD patients include the vast majority of patients who suffer from diseases of the coronary arteries (chest pain or heart attack), carotid arteries (stroke) and arteries of the legs (pain with walking and need for amputation). Recent developments in understanding the causes of CVD allow the Heart Smart team and your doctor to help you and your family make adjustments in your daily life to reduce your chances of recurring symptoms and the possibility of stroke, heart attack or even death.
What is Heart Smart? Heart Smart is a program made up of multi-skilled professionals who will work as a team with your doctor to help you reduce your risk of heart attack, stroke, arterial complications and death. The team consists of experts who will teach you about proper dietary habits, cholesterol disorders, diabetes, exercise, weight management and smoking cessation.
How will I benefit from Heart Smart? The majority of CVD patients have one or more "risk factors" which increase the chance of progressive CVD, recurrent symptoms and possible stroke or heart attack. The most important risk factors are high cholesterol and other blood fats, smoking, diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity and inactivity. The Heart Smart team will work with you to reduce your specific risk factors.
What involvement will my doctor have with Heart Smart? Your doctor will refer you to Heart Smart. The cardiac nurse specialist will stay in close contact with your doctor as they determine your needs. Your doctor will receive progress reports from Heart Smart team members, who will stay in touch with you by phone on a regular basis. No medication changes will be made without your doctor's input.
What do you mean by regular phone interaction? Once you have been to the initial class, you will receive phone contact with a team member at regular intervals based on your individual needs. You can expect the calls to monitor your diet and exercise progression, your medication effectiveness and update you on lab results.
Call (916) 564-2880 for more information about Heart Smart
