Heart Failure

Advanced care from pioneers in heart failure treatment and research

More than 6 million Americans have heart failure, a chronic disease that worsens over time and can severely limit your ability to live a full and normal life. Our Advanced Heart Failure Program is dedicated to alleviating symptoms and adding quality years to the lives of patients across the spectrum of the disease.

Our doctors are pioneers in heart failure treatments, having implanted the first HeartWare® left ventricular assist device (LVAD) in the country and having performed the first heart transplant in the District of Columbia. We continue to improve on these procedures while also aggressively pursuing even more effective therapies for the sickest of the sick.

Our team includes not only heart doctors and surgeons but also nutritionists, financial counselors and social workers as part of our patient support program. We are one of the first advanced heart failure programs to integrate palliative care personalized pain management along every step of treatment.

What is Heart Failure?

Watch the two videos below to learn more.

What are the types of heart failure?

Heart failure occurs when your heart doesn’t fill with enough blood or doesn’t pump enough blood throughout your body. This is different from sudden cardiac arrest, in which the heart actually stops beating.

There are three main types of heart failure:

• Congestive heart failure, in which blood backs up and causes congestion in the body’s tissues. This most often results in swelling in the legs, but it also can interfere with lung and kidney function.
• Left-sided heart failure, in which the heart does not have enough force to pump blood to the rest of the body.
• Right-side heart failure, in which the heart can’t effectively accept blood from the body and deliver it to the lungs.

What can cause heart failure?

Most cases of heart failure are caused by damage to the heart due to an underlying condition, such as:

• Arrhythmia, or irregular heartbeat
• Cardiomyopathy, or disease of the heart muscle
• Coronary artery disease
• Congenital defects and disease, or heart conditions you’re born with
• Heart attack
• Heart valve disease
• High blood pressure

What are the possible risk factors for heart failure?

Along with having one of the conditions above that can cause heart failure, the following factors also can increase your risk for the disease:

• Age (older than 65)
• Drinking too much alcohol
• Family history of heart failure
• Gender (men are at higher risk)
• Obesity
• Race (African-Americans are at increased risk of heart failure)
• Tobacco use

Tests

Diagnosing heart failure is the first step to developing a treatment plan. Our specialists may recommend one or more diagnostic and imaging procedures.

Treatments

If you have heart failure, you’ll likely need lifelong treatment to manage symptoms, reverse damage and live longer.  It may include lifestyle modifications, medications or other advanced treatments.