The Heart Failure Clinic at Advanced Cardiovascular Specialists offers patients valuable guidance on managing their heart diagnosis, from diet to exercise. The nurses are passionate about their work, treat patients like family and help alleviate anxiety by guiding patients through their diagnosis.

Kellie Hart, BSN, RN, Heart Failure Clinic Coordinator:
We didn’t have the heart failure clinic many years back, and so this just allows the patients to be monitored more closely. We keep a closer eye on them, so we can recognize the changes sometimes before they do.

Kevin, LVAD Patient:
Elizabeth was telling me it was very important to have a low salt intake, low fat intake and a heart-healthy diet: very important because the medicine was helping me out. I can help myself by dieting and exercising. It let me know if I, you know, if I didn’t live a certain way, if I didn’t change my lifestyle, that I probably wouldn’t be here anymore.

Elizabeth Willis, RN, APRN, FNP-BC, Heart Falure Clinic Nurse Practitioner:
Heart failure is a very scary disease, and it can change in seconds. I think knowing that they can pick up that phone and we’re going to call them right back, that just alleviates a lot of that anxiety and that fear.

Britney, Patient’s Family:
I think I personally wouldn’t be able to get through everything if it wasn’t for Kellie and Elizabeth because they had to pick me up a lot of days. I had to call them, and they calmed me down to get me ready. I love them. I love them for real.

Elizabeth:
I think we’re fortunate that ACS supports us so much with the heart failure clinic. We’re allowed to spend time with our patients. We allocate whatever time it takes to explain things to our patients. We have visits that may last 30 minutes or 45 minutes, just so we can explain everything to the patient and that helps so much.

Jimmy Smith, M.D., Advanced Cardiovascular Specialists:
They see them frequently, so they’re able to make rapid adjustments in their medications and get them on the right medications in a timely manner. These ladies just do an unbelievable job. I mean, they make all the difference in the world in the care of our heart failure patients.

Charles, Transplant Patient:
These two women here were there for me every time I went in to see them. Leah is always like the mama figure. What have you eaten? What did you do? What you didn’t do? Kellie was more the type that kind of ‘Okay, Mom. Take it easy on brother. Alright, slow down.’

Kellie:
We both love cardiology, but we’re really passionate about heart failure. We both feel the same, and the patients know that. They know that we’re like this team. We balance each other, and we have our strengths. We complement each other very well.

Charles:
I tell you: Without those two women there, I wouldn’t be here today. I know that for a fact.

Wayne, Transplant Patient:
I tell all of them, ‘you all are angels. You don’t see your wings behind you, but I see them.’