Advanced Heart Failure Program at Baptist Heart Institute
At Baptist Heart Institute, we lead the way with comprehensive services and next-level care for all aspects of advanced heart failure for patients across the Mid-South.
As a leading research facility, we are at the forefront of the latest advancements in the diagnosis and treatment of heart failure. Drawing upon the resources and expertise of Baptist Heart Institute, the most comprehensive and well-respected heart care program in the Mid-South, we offer innovative, patient-centered treatments and therapies. We are dedicated to being a leader in clinical outcomes and patient experience.
Advanced heart failure is a treatable condition, and our services are particularly beneficial for patients diagnosed with Stage C or D (NYHA stages III & IV) heart failure who no longer respond to medicines and require frequent hospitalization. Our cardiologists specialize in diagnosing and treating complications resulting from all forms of heart failure.
Advanced Heart Failure
Heart failure is a chronic condition in which the heart doesn’t pump enough blood for the body’s needs. This can occur if the heart cannot pump (systolic) or fill (diastolic) adequately. Symptoms include shortness of breath, fatigue, swollen legs and rapid heartbeat. Most often, heart failure is caused by another medical condition that damages your heart, including coronary heart disease, heart inflammation, high blood pressure, cardiomyopathy, irregular heartbeat or heart valve disease. Diagnosis is based on your medical and family history, a physical exam, and results from imaging and blood tests.
Heart failure may not cause symptoms right away. Eventually, you may feel tired and short of breath and notice fluid buildup in your lower body, around your stomach or neck. Heart failure can also lead to other complications, such as liver or kidney damage, pulmonary hypertension and other heart conditions.
Heart failure is a serious condition that can be lifelong. However, treatment including healthy lifestyle changes, medicines, surgical and non-surgical procedures, and devices – such as a defibrillator, pacemaker and other mechanical assist devices – help many people have an improved quality of life. The experts at Baptist Heart Institute will work with you, your primary care provider, and your cardiac care team to determine the most effective, least invasive treatment for your condition.
Barostim for treatment of heart failure
The Baptist Heart Institute offers Barostim therapy as a potential option for the treatment of heart failure. If you suffer from the symptoms of heart failure and the medications you have been prescribed are not enough to help, Barostim may be a therapeutic option for you.
Barostim, a simple and implantable device that works by stimulating baroreceptors, the natural sensors in our body that tell the nervous system how to regulate heart, kidney and vascular function. These effects may reduce the heart’s workload and help it pump more efficiently, helping to relieve the symptoms of heart failure.
Amyloidosis
Amyloidosis (AM-uh-loy-DOH-sis) is a protein disorder. In this disease, proteins change shape (misfold), then bind together and form amyloid fibrils which deposit in organs. As amyloid fibrils build up, the tissues and organs may not work as well as they should.
Left untreated, amyloidosis can be a serious health problem that can lead to life-threatening organ failure. Because the disease is mostly hereditary, genetic testing can help detect it early.
The Advanced Heart Failure Program at Baptist is the Mid-South’s leader in diagnosing and treating amyloidosis. Our talented team of cardiac experts and researchers continue to perform innovative research and clinical trials to discover new effective treatments like Onpattro®, a medication that stops the spread of amyloid growth? By halting its production in the liver. Baptist was the first hospital in the region to use this life-saving therapy.
Symptoms depend on which organs are affected and may include swelling, fatigue and weakness, shortness of breath, numbness, and tingling or pain in the hands or feet. Often, the first signs of amyloidosis are orthopedic conditions such as spinal stenosis or carpal tunnel syndrome. Depending on the type of amyloidosis, medications, chemotherapy or a stem-cell transplant may be options.
Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH)
Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension, or PAH, is a rare disease characterized by high pressures in the lung circulation. This disease carries a very high risk of morbidity and mortality if left untreated. Given the rarity of this condition and the significant overlap in symptoms and signs with other disease processes, it requires specialized care with expertise and a highly sophisticated diagnostic process. PAH is ideally managed by collaborative efforts between cardiologists and pulmonologists who specialize in managing this complex disease. Baptist’s Advanced Heart Failure Program is uniquely capable of providing leading-edge cardiac care for such patients, and we are working with the pulmonology experts at Memphis Lung Physicians group to offer a multidisciplinary PAH Center where patients are evaluated by both lung and heart specialists during the same visit.
We’re Here to Help
It is possible to live a happy, productive life with a stage C or D heart failure diagnosis. The Advanced Heart Failure Clinic at Baptist Heart Institute in Memphis, Tennessee, has the expertise, resources and innovative approach to care to help you live longer and stronger.
To schedule an appointment, ask your primary care provider to call the referral line at 901-226-2000 and speak directly to a nurse coordinator, Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
If you have concerns about your heart health or feel you may be at risk for heart failure, we are here to listen and help you take your next steps to wellness. Complete and submit the brief form below to be contacted by one of our knowledgeable staff.