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AHN Heart Failure Program

AHN Heart Failure Program overview

The AHN Heart Failure Program provides ongoing care to relieve symptoms and delay heart failure disease progression. We also provide pre- and post-surgical care for people who undergo heart surgery, get mechanical circulatory support devices, or receive a heart transplant. Our specialists at the heart failure clinic diagnose and treat all stages of congestive heart failure.

Heart failure is a serious condition that can make it challenging to complete daily activities. When the heart struggles to pump blood efficiently, it can lead to various symptoms that can impact your quality of life and result in dysfunction of other organ systems.

Our heart failure clinic treats a range of heart conditions within these specialized programs:

The AHN Heart Failure Program has a multidisciplinary team of experts in heart failure and related cardiovascular specialties who collaborate to provide individualized care. Depending on your condition, the following divisions of care are involved:

  • Heart Failure and Transplant Division
  • Cardiac Surgery
  • Electrophysiology
  • Interventional Cardiology

How we treat heart failure conditions

Recognized by the American Heart Association, the AHN Heart Failure Program is among the best in the country. Our cardiac specialists stay up to date on the latest innovations for diagnosing, treating, and managing various heart conditions.

Conditions we treat

Heart failure is a condition that occurs when the heart doesn’t pump blood as efficiently as it should. This causes blood pressure within the heart to increase, making vital organs unable to receive the proper supply of oxygen-rich nutrients.

When heart failure is associated with congestion or fluid retention, it’s referred to as congestive heart failure. The fluid retention can be located in the legs, ankles, lungs (pulmonary congestion or pulmonary edema), abdomen (ascites), or liver (hepatic congestion).

Types of heart failure include:

  • Left-sided heart failure: The heart’s left ventricle is an important chamber that delivers oxygen and blood to the body’s organs. Left-sided heart failure affects all organs. These are the two types of left-sided heart failure:
    • Systolic (HFrEF): This type happens when the heart muscle doesn’t contract with enough force, leading to less oxygen in the blood being pumped around the body.
    • Diastolic (HFpEF): This type happens when the heart contracts as it should, but the left ventricle is stiff, causing pressure inside the heart to increase.
  • Right-sided heart failure: The right ventricle inside the heart normally pumps blood into the lungs. When the heart is too weak, the blood moves backward into the veins and usually causes swelling in the abdomen, legs, ankles, and feet.
  • Acute heart failure: Also known as decompensated heart failure, this life-threatening condition happens when the heart struggles to deliver oxygen to the body.
  • Cardiogenic shock: This occurs when a sudden or progressive loss of heart function results in extremely low blood pressure. When the heart can’t pump the necessary blood to vital organs and tissues, it can cause life-threatening organ dysfunction.
  • Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: This serious condition happens when the walls of the heart thicken, causing it to function improperly. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy may lead to death from cardiac arrest if left untreated. Learn more about Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
  • Cardiac sarcoidosis: This rare disease causes your body to make scar tissue as a response to inflammation. As a result, inflammation can affect the electric system of the heart, causing heart block (slow heart rhythms). This disease may also result in dangerously fast heart rhythms from the ventricles, which can cause palpitation or even sudden cardiac arrest. If unrecognized or untreated, sarcoidosis can also cause weakness of the heart muscle and congestive heart failure.
  • Cardiac amyloidosis: Amyloidosis is a group of diseases caused when one or more organs receive an abnormal deposit of amyloid proteins that cause stiffness of the heart muscle and can result in congestive heart failure and atrial fibrillation (irregular heartbeats). Learn more about Cardiac amyloidosis.

Heart failure diagnostics

The AHN Heart Failure Program uses best-in-class imaging and diagnostic tools to help determine the nature, type, and severity of a heart failure condition. Cutting-edge technologies allow us to assess symptoms and determine the type of failure, so we can protect your heart while preventing further damage.

Learn more about congestive heart failure, including symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment options.

Treatment options

  • Left ventricular assist device (LVAD) therapy: This mechanical device supports the heart as it tries to pump blood from its lower chambers to the body's organs and tissues.
  • Heart transplantation: A heart transplant surgery is often a last resort for those with end-stage heart failure who aren’t improving with treatment. Although it’s a major procedure, you can experience a successful, full recovery with proper follow-up care. Learn more about Heart transplantation.

Advanced comprehensive care

Our team of cardiologists, nurses, cardiothoracic surgeons, pharmacists, nutritionists, and social workers are experts in advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology. By working with patients before heart failure develops, our fellowship-trained, board-certified physicians can connect you to programs that seek to prevent or delay the progression of heart failure and other related conditions.

Through these AHN Heart Failure Programs, our team can provide patients with integrated support and assist in the prevention, preparation, management, and treatment of heart failure: