The Advanced Heart Failure Center offers a variety of heart failure treatment options

We know heart failure is scary, but you don’t have to do it alone. The Advanced Heart Failure Center works to eliminate your pain and help you be a happier and healthier you. When you’re experiencing heart failure, your heart’s ability to pump blood to the rest of the body is impaired. Your heart still beats, but it pumps less nutrient- and oxygen-rich blood to the rest of your body. Heart Failure can cause swelling and fluid buildup in your legs, feet, and even your lungs, making it difficult to perform everyday activities. It’s our mission to work hard to get you back to a comfortable and active lifestyle.

Advanced Heart Failure will occur when the condition has progressed to a point where traditional medication and symptom management are no longer working. If your heart failure disease progresses and the heart becomes weaker, treatment gets more complex.

Group photo of doctors and specialists in the Heart Failure center

 

Board-certified specialists are ready for any complexity

At Maimonides, we approach advanced heart failure by applying a multidisciplinary team to ensure our patients receive the best and most comprehensive care before, during, and after treatment.

Our heart failure specialists treat a full spectrum of heart failure causes, including congestive heart failure, left-sided and right-sided heart failure, and systolic and diastolic heart failure. Our doctors are dedicated to educating patients about all available heart failure treatments, including heart surgery. If you have questions or concerns, we’re here to help.

When heart failure progresses to an advanced stage, Maimonides offers a full range of treatment options and help you determine which option is best for you.

Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy (CRT)

People who have advanced heart failure may develop abnormal conduction of the heart’s electrical system that changes how the heart beats. CRT may be needed to improve heart function, reduce hospitalization risk, and improve survival. These devices are surgically placed and include a special pacemaker that makes the ventricles contract in a normal fashion and in synchrony.

Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) Program

ECMO is a life-sustaining therapy that involves the use of a heart-lung machine to mimic the natural function of the heart and lungs.

This innovative procedure gives patients temporary respiratory and cardiac support as they undergo treatment to the affected organ, allowing the heart and lungs to rest.

Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD) Program

An LVAD is a battery-operated, mechanical pump-type device that is surgically implanted in patients with end-stage congestive heart failure. It helps maintain the pumping action of the left ventricle when it can no longer function effectively on its own.

Medical Management

Heart failure is often treated with a combination of medications. The heart failure experts at Maimonides Advanced Heart Failure Center take a personalized approach to develop an individualized course of treatment to meet your special needs.

Medications prescribed to treat heart failure may include:

  • Aldosterone Antagonists – Are drugs that help rid the body of extra fluid and lower blood pressure. Blood potassium and creatinine (for kidney function) will be closely monitored
  • Angiotensin Converting Enzyme (ACE) Inhibitors – Are drugs that help to keep your heart failure from getting worse. Sometimes they even shrink an enlarged heart back to normal size
  • Angiotensin II Receptor Blocker Neprilysin Inhibitor (ARNI) – Is a new combination drug (sacubitril/valsartan) used in patients with a reduced EF and may replace the use of ACE Inhibitor or ARB therapy. It has been shown to be effective in reducing the risk of death and hospitalization
  • Angiotensin II Receptor Blockers (ARB) – Are drugs that help relax blood vessels which assist in lowering blood pressure and allow the heart to pump easier
  • Beta Blockers – Are drugs that lower the blood pressure and slow the heart rate, possibly lessening the stress which may play a part in heart failure
  • Diuretics – Are water pills that help your kidneys produce more urine. This results in less fluid for your heart to pump. With less to pump, the heart does not need to work so hard
  • Lanoxin (Digoxin) – Is a medicine that strengthens the heart muscle to help pump more blood with each heartbeat

Minimally Invasive Valve Surgery

Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement or Percutaneous Mitral Clip

Advanced Heart Failure can be caused by aortic or mitral valve disease. The heart valves regulate the flow of blood inside the heart. When they do not function properly, this puts extra strain on the heart and can lead to Advanced Heart Failure. Heart valve replacement or a mitral clip can often improve or resolve the Advanced Heart Failure condition.

Percutaneous Coronary Intervention or Coronary Artery Bypass Graft

Advanced Heart Failure can be caused by coronary artery disease. The coronary arteries supply blood to the heart muscle. When blockages in the coronary arteries restrict the blood supply to the heart muscle in a condition known as ischemic heart disease, this puts extra strain on the heart and can lead to Advanced Heart Failure. Removing these blockages can improve overall heart function, which may improve or resolve heart failure symptoms.

Advanced care, specialized for you

Maimonides board-certified Advanced Heart Failure cardiologists can help optimize your medical management and evaluate your need for various device therapies to improve your heart function and quality of life. We’re dedicated to getting you back on your feet, back home, and back to the life you want to live.

 

Call (718) 283-7315 for an appointment with an Advanced Heart Failure specialist

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