LOCAL cardiac health group Heartbeat Ballarat recently called out for donations of digital body scales with a goal to prevent heart failure emergencies and ease pressure on hospitals.<\/p>\n
With the support of individuals across the community, the organisation has received 100 scales to support patients in their network.<\/p>\n
Following media coverage one donor gave 23 scales, and when the campaign seemed to halt at about the 60-scale mark, another individual\u2019s single donation of 35 scales helped Heartbeat Ballarat to make their target a reality.<\/p>\n
One hundred scales have been delivered to Grampians Health which will be distributed to heart failure patients across the region, to support them with their heart health management in the home.<\/p>\n
\u201cGrampians Health only had four scales left from our previous donation, so there was some urgency about it,\u201d Heartbeat Ballarat member Barry Nixon said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey generally save heart failure patients from becoming really unwell and prevent re-hospitalisations.\u201d<\/p>\n
Heart failure and cardiac rehab nurse practitioner Linda Macaulay thanked the group for what she said was a generous and lifesaving donation.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo many patients, when they get a new diagnosis of heart failure, find it a really hard thing to hear, because the life expectancy is five years,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s terribly confronting.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe ask them to do a lot of things when they get diagnosed. They have to attend lots of appointments while they’re not well, so the task of getting their own scales is another thing to do, and another barrier to them looking after themselves.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we can supply the scales, with the batteries, it’s one less hurdle they have to jump over to manage their condition.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf patients are taught how to manage heart failure, and they\u2019re supported, they can go on to live with it for a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Heart failure patients are encouraged to step on the scales first thing in the morning and weigh themselves as part of continuity of care, and to build their self-confidence.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen people start to get sick, and get a nasty infection, their heart has to work harder,\u201d Ms Macaulay said.<\/p>\n
\u201cFluid can build up quickly, so if they weigh themselves and notice their weight has gone up, they have time to act before their condition gets bad.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LOCAL cardiac health group Heartbeat Ballarat recently called out for donations of digital body scales with a goal to prevent heart failure emergencies and ease pressure on hospitals. With the support of individuals across the community, the organisation has received 100 scales to support patients in their network. Following media coverage one donor gave 23 […]<\/p>\n