Heart Failure
Every part of your body relies on oxygen-rich blood to function. When the heart muscle doesn’t pump enough blood to keep your body strong, a condition known as heart failure can occur. Left untreated, heart failure can cause your heart to get bigger or pump harder, which can worsen the problem even more. The advanced heart failure program at the UK Gill Heart & Vascular Institute offers comprehensive heart failure care for Kentuckians.
While anyone can experience heart failure, certain factors increase the risk. Your risk of developing heart failure increases if you are 70 years or older or have:
- Arrythmia
- Congenital heart diseases that affect blood flow inside the heart
- Coronary artery disease or previous heart attack
- Diabetes
- Obesity
- Sleep apnea
- Heart valve disease (also called structural heart disease)
- High blood pressure
- Family history of unexplained heart failure
Symptoms of heart failure can mimic other conditions and include:
- Shortness of breath during rest, simple activities or sleep
- Needing more than two pillows to sleep comfortably
- Fatigue, or extreme tiredness
- Nausea
- Persistent coughing
- Racing heart
- Swelling in the legs, feet and/or stomach
- Rapid weight gain
If you experience any of these symptoms, the advanced heart failure team at the UK Gill Heart & Vascular Institute can help. We have the tools and expertise to ensure you get proper treatment that might save your life. From lifestyle changes and medication to heart transplants, we provide the full range of treatment options. We also offer ongoing management to help maintain a high quality of life.
Conditions we treat
The UK Gill Heart & Vascular can diagnose, treat and manage various types of heart failure, including:
- Cardiac amyloidosis: An excess amount of amyloid protein stops the heart from relaxing between beats. The UK Gill Heart & Vascular Institute is home to Kentucky’s only program dedicated to treating this type of heart failure.
- Diastolic heart failure: Also called heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), diastolic heart failure occurs when the heart’s chambers become stiff and cannot fill with enough blood.
- Systolic heart failure: Also called heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), systolic heart failure occurs when the heart muscle weakens. This makes it more difficult for the heart to pump blood through the body.
Why choose the UK Gill Heart & Vascular Institute advanced heart failure program?
Learning you have heart failure can be scary and overwhelming, but the right care and support can make a big difference. At the UK Gill Heart & Vascular Institute, our goal isn't just to help our patients manage their heart failure – we want to empower them to live life to the fullest.
Managing heart failure requires a highly skilled team. Your care team at the UK Gill Heart & Vascular Institute includes specialists trained in advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology. These experts will build a meaningful relationship with you to ensure you get the care you need when you need it. Together, we strive to help you live a longer and better life.
Specialists on your multidisciplinary team include:
- Cardiologists
- Nurse coordinators
- Pharmacists
- Psychiatric nurse practitioners
- Social workers
- Dietitians
- Physical therapists
- Medical assistants
Most of the patients who turn to our heart failure program know they have heart failure and are ready to begin treatment. Depending on various factors, treatment may include one or more of the following:
- Lifestyle changes: These are recommended along with any other treatment to help manage heart failure:
- Regular physical activity
- A healthy diet with little salt
- Good sleep habits
- A healthy weight
- Medical therapy: Medicine is the first treatment prescribed. Medicine may help remove sodium or fluid from your body, relax your blood vessels, slow your heart rate, or help your heart in other ways.
- MitraClip: A surgeon attaches a small clip to your heart’s mitral valve. This helps the valve close properly, allowing blood to move properly through your heart.
- Pulmonary artery pressure monitoring: A small device is placed in your pulmonary artery to monitor pressures in your heart. This can help you and your care team make more informed decisions about medicine changes and/or the amount of fluids you are drinking.
- Barostim: This device is implanted on your carotid artery and stimulates barorecepetors found there to reduce the release of stress hormones. Stress hormones can signal the heart to work harder, which worsens symptoms of heart failure. By reducing the release of stress hormones, your heart failure symptoms – as well as your quality of life – can improve.
- Left ventricle assist device (LVAD): If your heart failure continues to worsen despite taking medicines and making lifestyle changes, a surgeon can implant a small pump against your heart. This device helps pump blood to the rest of your body. It can alleviate your heart failure symptoms by improving blood flow throughout your body.
- Heart transplant: When other treatments fail, transplant may be necessary. Since its inception, UK HealthCare’s heart transplant program has remained the largest in the state.
Housed within the University of Kentucky Albert B. Chandler Hospital, the UK Gill Heart & Vascular Institute has gained recognition by U.S. News & World Report for heart failure treatment. With a multidisciplinary team specially trained in heart failure care, we plan to continue providing nationally recognized care for years to come.
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