September 19, 2017 – Bridge Clinic

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Anchor lead: How can people with heart failure be safely managed outside of the hospital? Elizabeth Tracey reports

Heart failure rates domestically and internationally are soaring, with a recent study pointing to dietary salt consumption as one contributory factor. Nisha Gilotra, a cardiologist at Johns Hopkins, says a novel approach called a ‘bridge clinic’ can help people who’ve been hospitalized with heart failure avoid repeated hospitalizations.

Gilotra: In that clinic they’re able to have very close monitoring of whether the treatments that were initiated in the hospital are still working, if they need to be adjusted, they can even avoid coming back into the hospital by calling the clinic and saying I feel more short of breath, my weight is going up, my legs are swelling. And come in and get their pills adjusted, or even through an IV get medication that helps get the fluid off.  :25

Enrollment in the bridge clinic starts while people with heart failure are in the hospital and relies on abundant education to help them recognize when their condition is worsening and reach out for help. Giotra says people are really happy to be participants in their own care and avoid coming back to the hospital. At Johns Hopkins, I’m Elizabeth Tracey.