Advanced Heart Failure Center
The Cardiovascular Institute's Advanced Heart Failure Center at UPMC is one of the largest and best known in the country, providing rapid diagnosis and state-of-the-art treatment ranging from traditional medical therapy to evaluation and referral for heart transplantation, or heart assist devices. Heart transplantation, heart/lung transplantation and heart-assist devices are surgical options provided at UPMC by surgical specialists recognized for their expertise and experience.
The Cardiovascular Institute's Advanced Heart Failure Center aggressively pursues the latest treatment options for people with congestive heart failure (CHF), a condition in which the heart is unable to pump the necessary amount of blood throughout the body. Center faculty members carry out research into the effect of genetics on the effectiveness of beta-blocker medications in treating CHF, opening the possibility of tailoring medical therapy to each individual patient. The center features one of the largest populations of pulmonary hypertension patients in the country, offering experience with this complex illness second to none in the region. For those patients who are not helped by medical therapy, quick referral is offered to UPMC's Lung and Heart-Lung Transplantation Program, which ranks among the three most experienced programs in the country.
CHF patients admitted to UPMC Presbyterian receive comprehensive, state-of-the-art care from a multidisciplinary team that includes heart failure specialists, clinical nurse specialists, dietitians, social workers, and exercise physiologists. The team emphasizes specialized medical care in combination with education, lifestyle modification, and exercise. The team also ensures that adequate resources are available for the patient to continue optional care of CHF. This disease management service has improved outcomes of hospitalized heart failure patients and reduced the number of heart failure readmissions to the hospital.
Patient care at the Advanced Heart Failure Center is provided by the coordinated efforts of cardiologists and cardiac surgeons who specialize in heart failure, transplantation, and support devices; nurses; nurse practitioners; and physician assistants, all who are highly skilled and trained in the care of patients with CHF. Patients can participate in clinical trials of virtually all the investigational CHF drugs and devices currently being evaluated in the United States. The physicians of the Advanced Heart Failure Center hold leadership positions in many of these trials.
Some patients have reversible forms of CHF, which may be caused by a variety of disorders. Occasionally, medication or a temporary heart-assist device can allow such patients to recover without heart transplantation. Every patient with new-onset heart failure, therefore, should undergo a thorough evaluation to identify systemic disorders that could affect his or her prognosis or treatment.
Genetic Heart Muscle Disorders
Advanced Heart Failure Center physicians specialize in the evaluation and treatment of CHF that arises from inherited conditions. Any person with a family history of heart muscle disease, coronary artery disease, or Marfan syndrome may be evaluated to determine his or her risk. Family members also may make appointments for testing and counseling to determine their risk – and their children's – for developing the disease. UPMC researchers helped develop DNA tests for CHF risk and continue to study the role of genes in this disease.
Non-Pharmacologic Approaches
The UPMC heart failure program offers several novel nonpharmacologic (non drug-based) approaches to patients with heart failure who are disabled despite medical therapy. These include cardiac resynchronization therapy devices, defibrillators, high-risk coronary revascularization, and valve repair and replacement.
Cardiac Transplantation and the Artificial Heart Program
For patients with refractory CHF – those who are not helped by medical therapy – UPMC Presbyterian offers a number of options, including transplantation or support of the heart with implantable heart-assist devices. UPMC Presbyterian was one of the first medical centers to perform heart transplants routinely, and continues to be one of the busiest heart transplant centers in the nation. UPMC investigators at the UPMC Artificial Heart Program also have world-class experience with heart-assist devices such as the Novacor Left Ventricular Assist System, Thoratec ventricular-assist devices, and Heartmate ventricular-assist devices. These portable devices permit critically ill transplant candidates to live outside the hospital, thereby reducing their health care costs and providing them with as normal a lifestyle as feasible. New assist devices that can be implanted through arteries and veins without requiring major surgery are under study at UPMC.
Pulmonary Hypertension Program
The Pulmonary Hypertension Program works closely with the UPMC Advanced Heart Failure Center, Cardiac Transplantation Program, Comprehensive Lung Center, Liver Transplantation Program, and Systemic Sclerosis Center to provide full care for people with pulmonary hypertension. A buildup of pressure in the blood traveling from the heart to the lungs, pulmonary hypertension can cause heart failure and can also result from heart failure, from systemic sclerosis, as a side-effect of certain liver surgery procedures, or from other causes. Read more about the Pulmonary Hypertension Program >