Chronic Care Management

What is chronic care management?

Chronic care management provides long-term support to patients with ongoing health problems. It involves treating the conditions, monitoring treatments, and regular health assessments.

Chronic diseases profoundly impact people’s lives. You may suffer from continual or recurring pain and loss of function, preventing you from working, enjoying leisure activities, or even performing daily tasks. Long-term health problems also increase your risk of mental health conditions like anxiety and depression.

Many people (especially in later life) have two or more chronic diseases (comorbidities). Without proper care and support, these disorders can become disabling. Your illness could also leave you vulnerable to complications if you don’t receive the required treatment.

Chronic care management addresses all these issues so you can live a longer, healthier, happier life.

What conditions might require chronic care management?

Chronic care management could benefit any long-term health problem, from asthma, allergies, and diabetes to cancer, arthritis, and autoimmune disorders. Heart disease is one of the most widespread chronic health problems, an area where The Heart Institute of Venice excels.

The heart is your body’s powerhouse. It pumps blood filled with oxygen, nutrients, and healing cells around your body throughout your life. If your heart stops working, you quickly die. Unfortunately, heart problems are all too common.

Some are due to congenital conditions (ones that develop before birth), like having a hole in your heart. Others develop because of infections and injuries. Heart disease is often caused by an unhealthy lifestyle — smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, lack of exercise, a poor diet, and weight gain.

Patients with chronic diseases like diabetes are also at increased risk of developing heart conditions.

What will be in my chronic care management plan?

Chronic care management consists of routine appointments with your primary care and/or specialist providers to review your symptoms, check treatment effectiveness, and alter your treatment plan if necessary.

The Heart Institute of Venice supports chronic care management with various cardiology procedures, including:

• Echocardiograms
• Nuclear stress testing
• Holter monitoring
• Telemetry monitoring
• Event monitoring
• Electrocardiograms (EKGs)

The team performs procedures like enhanced external counterpulsation (EECP) therapy to improve blood flow. They also run a Coumadin® clinic to monitor blood-thinning medicine usage and a pacemaker and implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) clinic.

To learn more about chronic care management, call The Heart Institute of Venice or request a consultation online today.