By Staff
KALAMAZOO -- Borgess Medical Center has opened a patient care unit devoted to congestive heart failure patients.
The 13-bed CHF unit joins three cardiac critical care units, a 24-bed emergency heart center, six cardiovascular laboratories, three heart surgical suites, an electrophysiology department and a fully-monitored 48-bed cardiac unit, all devoted to cardiac patients.
Congestive heart failure is the top reason for Medicare patient hospitalization in the United States.
Congestive heart failure volume at Borgess Medical Center has increased about 15 percent annually, with more than 500 admissions last year.
The multiple causes of congestive heart failure result in inefficient heart function.
Fluid may build up in the lungs and other parts of the body while the heart itself sometimes becomes enlarged as it tries to compensate for its less efficient pumping.
Some symptoms may include shortness of breath, fatigue, coughing (often at night), swelling in the legs and ankles and weight gain. About 550,000 Americans are diagnosed with congestive heart failure each year and 5 million -- primarily older adults -- live with this disease.