ROME, Ga., April 5, 2024 – Milton Hight feared his walking days were over. He was tired all the time and out of breath. That's when he turned to the Heart Failure Clinic at Atrium Health Floyd for care. The experts there were able to help him continue doing what he loves.
Now, at the age of 66, he is walking anywhere from four miles to six miles a day.
The Cartersville resident had double bypass surgery in 2005. Despite that, he said he was feeling well, until about a year and half ago when he was diagnosed with congestive heart failure.
Since then, Hight said, he visits the clinic anywhere from once a week to once every three weeks, depending on how he's feeling.
Heart failure means that the heart cannot pump blood well enough to meet the body's needs. The goal of the Heart Failure Clinic is to help people learn to take better care of themselves and manage their chronic disease. The clinic provides educational resources, lab work and medication administration.
Patients learn about:
- Types of heart failure, including congestive heart failure
- Healthier eating
- Medication side effects
- Ways to increase activity
- How to monitor what they eat and drink
- Tracking how much they weigh
Hight said he weighs about 266 pounds, down 50 pounds from 316 pounds. He speaks fondly of the teammates at the clinic, who have helped him keep walking. He can often be seen getting his exercise at Hamilton Crossing Park in Bartow County when the weather is good.
His wife, Robin, to whom he was married 42 years, passed away two years ago. He said the kindness of caregivers at the clinic helped sustain him through a tough time.
“When I went in there, I was struggling with my emotions. Julie (Julie Stancil, clinical manager) made me feel so comfortable. And then all I could think of was, well, if I die, when am I going to fall over? She made me feel relaxed.
“They are all very professional and caring, and I really feel like they are sincerely concerned about my health," he added.
The clinic, which opened in 2018, is in Suite 103 on the first floor of the 330 Physicians Center, 330 Turner McCall Blvd., next to Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center. It is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Referrals from a physician are required.
For more information, call 706-509-5645.
Atrium Health Floyd Polk Medical Center, which is about 30 miles south of Rome off U.S. 27, also has a heart failure clinic that opened in 2023.
That clinic is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and can be reached by phone at 770-749-4157.