Dedicated centre: The first dedicated heart failure clinic in the west of Ireland has been set up at University College Hospital Galway (UCHG) in an effort to reduce the rate of re-admission to hospital and the risk of death among heart failure patients.
The heart failure clinic - which has been funded by Croí - is based on the model of the very successful heart failure clinic at St Vincent's hospital in Dublin.
Consultant cardiologist at UCHG Dr Pat Nash explained that heart failure patients required multiple drugs which needed to be adjusted carefully so that they were on the optimum treatment regime.
"Such a regime has been shown to reduce the risk of death and re-admission to hospital.
"Heart failure is a chronic condition involving a weakening of the heart muscle usually caused by a previous heart attack or long-standing valve disease or high blood pressure," he said.
Symptoms include breathlessness and fluid retention and there are recurrent admissions to hospital.
"It's a very debilitating condition that tends to occur in older patients who require a lot of medical intervention," said Dr Nash.
The average length of stay in hospital for a heart failure patient is 10 days for first admission and 17 days for re-admission, making the condition a huge drain on resources and finances.
Dr Nash explained: "With funds raised by Croí, in collaboration with the HSE West, we have managed to employ a nurse specialist and to set up a heart failure unit. The aim is to monitor patients closely after their discharge and to optimise their treatment. These units have been shown to reduce re-admission significantly, to keep people well, to keep them out of hospital longer and living longer."
An estimated 0.3 per cent of the population suffer from advanced heart failure (which represents 1,500 to 2,000 people in the west) while a further 2 per cent of the population or 10,000 patients in the west suffer from stable heart failure. Many of these patients are elderly and would benefit from closer monitoring.
While Dr Nash is leading the heart failure project, his colleagues, consultant cardiologists Kieran Daly and Jim Crowley, are also involved.
The first heart operation is scheduled to take place at UCHG before the end of this year.
The first consultant cardiac surgeon has been appointed and will take up position in the autumn, and the process to recruit a second surgeon has begun. Two cardiac operating theatres, a 14- bed ward and a six-bed cardiac ICU are already in place.
