NewYork-Presbyterian program a life-saver for patients at risk of heart failure

NEW YORK -- Last year, Reverend R.E. Paris was hospitalized with COVID-19. After being discharged he thought he was fully recovered, but something else was wrong.

A nuclear stress test revealed residual heart failure, possibly from the virus. Reverend Paris then met with Dr. Sahil Parikh and Dr. Kelly Axsom at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center who enrolled him in their Centralized Heart Failure Management Program.

Started at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the program allows NewYork-Presbyterian to remotely monitor patients with heart failure like Reverend Paris, who are given at-home kits with blood pressure cuffs, scales, and more. They send daily vitals back to their doctors at NewYork-Presbyterian to track their progress and adjust medications as needed.

Thankfully, Reverend Paris was enrolled in the program when his vest registered a heart rhythm that could have killed him - twice.

With the aid of his new defibrillator and support from the team at NewYork-Presbyterian, Reverend Paris' health and heart function are greatly improved and his outlook on life is even more positive: "I want to see my grandson graduate. I would love to see college. I appreciate NewYork Presbyterian. I have doctors that listen to me when I talk. They show their concern. They're the most caring people that I have ever dealt with."

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Dr. Sahil Parikh, Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular Disease & Interventional Cardiology, Dr. Kelly Axsom, Advanced Heart Failure & Transplant Cardiology, and the Division of Cardiology at NewYork-Presbyterian / Columbia.