Bryan Heart Improvement Program

Our expert team is with you to help you manage your heart failure

If you’re experiencing heart failure symptoms, your doctor may refer you to the Bryan Heart Improvement Program (BHIP) to determine if you have heart failure. Our doctors and advanced practice nurses will do tests such as a health evaluation and an echocardiogram to see how well your heart is working.

If you have heart failure, our team will evaluate your condition to determine the best treatment plan. For most patients, medications and lifestyle choices are the first course of treatment. This is the focus of our heart failure clinic.

Your Heart Failure Treatment

Our specialized heart failure clinic includes:

Medication Management 

Our team determines the best medications and doses to manage your heart failure based on proven, effective, national guidelines of care. The right medications and the right doses are critical to effectively manage your heart failure condition.

Ongoing Care & Advanced Monitoring 

Effective monitoring of your heart and health is essential to managing your heart failure. Through the Bryan Heart Improvement Program you have access to the most advanced and effective tools to track your health and identify follow-up care needs, such as:

• CardioMEMS: A very accurate way for your doctors and nurses to receive daily readings to monitor your heart health; these readings are sent in remotely from your home. It’s an easy, effective way to track your heart health and identify potential problems before they become serious
• Optivol: This device is for patients with a pacemaker or defibrillator. It measures fluid in your chest area, and is monitored monthly. Readings can be sent in remotely from your home or accessed during an office visit
• Blood tests: This is done in the office to monitor your fluid levels

Additional Clinic Care For You

Our specialized clinic also provides:

• Routine appointments with advanced practice nurses and specially trained nurses, and your cardiologist, if needed, to monitor your health
• IV Lasix treatments to remove excess fluids from your system. This can help prevent future admissions to the hospital or emergency department 
• Screening for other possible health risks associated with heart failure, such as sleep apnea. Many heart failure patients also have sleep apnea and research has shown that treating sleep apnea improves your health
• 24/7 availability of nurses: You’re never alone. When you have questions or concerns, call our friendly, knowledgeable nurses anytime. They’ll answer your questions, let you know what to do at home to improve your symptoms, schedule an appointment if you need to see your doctor, or tell you if you need to seek immediate care

Support & Education 

At Bryan Heart, your heart failure treatment is a team approach. We provide the expertise to determine the right medications, best treatment plan and ongoing care for you. We also provide education and support to help you be a part of the team to manage your heart failure.

Your role in treatment

You have an important role in your treatment plan. We’ll help you learn how to:

• Monitor your health daily
• Take your medications
• Recognize your symptoms and what to do
• Make lifestyle changes to improve your condition, including a low sodium diet, exercise, no smoking and avoiding stress
• Know when to seek medical attention

By working together, you can live a better, more active life.

National Clinical Trials

Bryan Heart is a well-known and respected partner in national clinical trials. This reputation benefits you and all of our patients by providing access to treatment options not otherwise available in our region. Your treatment team will share information with you if clinical trial participation is an appropriate option for your treatment.

Advanced Treatment Options 

Your treatment team will refer you to advanced treatment options to enhance your medication treatment or to provide a next level of care if your condition cannot be managed through medications and lifestyles. This may include evaluation for heart transplant and other options.

Bryan offers the following advanced treatment options:

• Pacemaker (cardiac resynchronization therapy)
• Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD)
• Biventricular Implantable Defibrillator
• Coronary artery bypass surgery
• Heart valve surgery
• Research based clinical trials
• LVAD (left ventricular assist device)
• TAVR
• MitraClip