Doctors in Hamilton have introduced a convenient new healthcare option for patients with mechanical heart valves. Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) thrombosis and cardiology teams have partnered to open the Mechanical Heart Valve Clinic at Hamilton General Hospital, the first of its kind in Canada.
The clinic is co-led by cardiologist Dr. Emilie Belley-Cote, hematologist Dr. John Eikelboom, and thrombosis pharmacist Dr. Stephanie Carlin. It offers a comprehensive, one-stop approach for patients taking the blood thinner warfarin to prevent strokes.
Addressing Fragmented Care
“We know that health care is very fragmented,” Dr. Carlin told the Toronto Sun. “People often have one complex health condition that requires them to have four or five separate appointments with different specialists. Sometimes it is difficult for all of them to communicate in a timely manner and come up with one plan for the patient.”
The clinic aims to solve this by allowing patients to see all necessary specialists in one place at one time. “All of us are together at one time. We can really put our expertise together and come up with the best plan for the patient and provide them with all the interventions and education that they need,” Carlin added.
Benefits for Patients
With about 800 patients in the Hamilton area alone, the clinic removes the stress of managing multiple appointments at different locations. “Our patients have enough challenges with their health care and navigating that in their lives,” Carlin said. “It is beneficial for them to not have four or five separate appointments, and not to mention with those appointments sometimes the communication between doctors is not always the best. This puts everybody together in one place and we can come up with one plan at one time.”
The convenience also reduces time and costs associated with travel, parking, and time off work. “The amount of time people with complex conditions have to spend driving to appointments, paying for parking, and taking time off work—if people don’t have paid time off, that is costing a lot of money,” Carlin noted.
Improved Collaboration
The clinic also enhances communication among specialists. “We love that,” Carlin said. “All of us, coming from these different specialty areas and areas of expertise, we have come together to advance research in this field and include our patients in cutting-edge developments.”
How the Clinic Started
The idea for the clinic began last summer. “The three of us got together and said, ‘Hey, we think this would be a great opportunity to improve care for people with heart valves and to do it in a more efficient way,’” Carlin explained. “We have been getting lots of great feedback from patients, and we have seen the number of great interventions we have been able to make. There are lots of problems with patients’ medication management or heart valve problems that we have been able to fix.”
Managing Warfarin
Warfarin is the only blood thinner option for mechanical heart valve patients. It works by slowing the body’s ability to form blood clots, reducing the risk of clots on the valve that could cause a stroke. However, warfarin is difficult to manage. “If the levels are too low, people are at risk for blood clots; if too high, they can get severe internal bleeding in the stomach or brain, which can be catastrophic,” Carlin said. “You have to tightly regulate things so that numbers are just in the right range.”
The new clinic aims to provide better monitoring and management of warfarin therapy, ultimately improving patient outcomes and quality of life.
