Heart Matters is care at home for people at any stage of heart disease. Our caregivers have special training to help manage your heart symptoms and keep you comfortable at home.

When you’re dealing with heart disease, you may need extra support at home. Heart Matters is an extra layer of care on top of the care you receive from doctors.

We come to you wherever you live to help improve your quality of life and help both you and your family cope with your illness.

Heart Matters provides palliative (pal-lee-uh-tive) care that gives supportive care at home. It not only improves quality of life — it may extend it.

Studies have shown that palliative care reduces time in the hospital and helps avoid emergency room visits.

Services are available for many situations, from one-time consultations to regular, ongoing visits, even if you’re not ready for hospice.

We’ll help you to

Be more comfortable – help control swelling, shortness of breath, pain, tiredness, trouble sleeping and other symptoms

Cope with uncertainty – have a lifeline 24/7 for questions and concerns

Keep your independence – provide services at home, help your family understand how they can best help and reduce the need for ER visits

Feel less overwhelmed – educate you and your family on heart disease, your body’s reactions, medications and options so you can make better decisions

Worry less – help discuss choices and plan ahead for possible changes, and deciding what to do if your condition changes

Deal with fear and anxiety – give emotional and spiritual support to you and your family

Handle the details – coordinate care with your doctor and other health care providers, including equipment needs. You keep your doctor and have access to our palliative specialists, as needed

Is Heart Matters right for me?
If you suffer from shortness of breath, swelling, stress or other symptoms due to heart disease, call to find out more.

What to Expect

• A registered nurse who is certified in heart disease will coordinate care, and you can choose to receive care from other team members, such as home health aides, social workers, chaplains, dietitians, art/music therapists and more.
• We’ll work with you right in your home to help you cope with heart disease:
• Scheduled visits with expert staff
• In home cardiac care kit for quick access to medication
• Monitoring of your symptoms, fluid balance and oxygen levels
• Education tailored to you and your family
• Home lab work, physical therapy and personal care, as needed
• Emotional and spiritual support with a social worker and chaplain, if desired
• Round-the-clock access to nurses and emergency home visits

Payment and eligibility

Medicare, Medicaid and most private insurance plans pay for palliative or hospice care from Heart Matters. We will help you find out what your insurance covers or if you qualify for subsidized services.

How care begins

Care starts with a phone call from you, a family member, your physician or hospital staff. Once your doctor approves, services can start right away. Call 816.363.2600 ask for Heart Matters

What is supportive or palliative care?
Palliative (pal-lee-uh-tive) care is an extra layer of care at home that is often helpful for people who have heart disease. It helps to manage symptoms and support your family through the illness.

Heart Matters is a program of Kansas City Hospice and Palliative Care, a not-for-profit organization serving the needs of the seriously ill and their families in the ten-county greater Kansas City area since 1980.

We do not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, disability or religious beliefs.