Heart Failure

The Advanced Heart Failure Program at UR Medicine Cardiac Care gives hope to people with heart failure. It’s never too soon to reach out for a consult visit with our program. We welcome patients with all different types of cardiomyopathies to be seen in our clinic.

How Is Heart Failure Diagnosed?

To diagnose heart failure, your provider may order imaging or stress tests. At UR Medicine, we offer a wide range of diagnostic tests for heart failure. These include: 

• Echocardiogram
• Electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG)
• Cardiac MRI
• Cardiac PET
• Nuclear Stress Test
• CT/CAT Scan

How Is Heart Failure Treated?

We offer advanced treatments, many of which are not available anywhere else in the Rochester metropolitan area and surrounding region. These include: 

• Medications. Medications are the primary treatments we utilize to treat all patients with heart failure.
  
• Implantable devices. We currently offer the following clinical devices: 

  • CardioMems — an implantable monitor which transmits real-time fluid data to the clinic. This allows the clinic to optimize daily medications and help keep patients out of the hospital.  

  • Barostim — this is a minimally invasive procedure that involves places a small device under the skin in your chest which sends electric signals to your carotid artery to trigger the body to reduce heart failure symptoms, improving quality of life.  

  • Implantable defibrillator (ICD) — This device is implanted surgically. If your heart should stop suddenly, the defibrillator will shock your heart back to its normal rhythm.

  • Ventricular assist devices (VADs), also known as “artificial heart pumps,” can be used to help your heart pump better. VADs are implanted in your heart and run on battery power. VADs have been shown to help extend and improve the lives of people with heart failure.

• Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT), a relatively new treatment, can help your heart pump more efficiently. A CRT device uses electrical signals to help the heartbeat in a more coordinated way.
• Heart transplant is for patients who have severe heart failure. Patients who have heart transplants often experience dramatic improvements in their health. Since donor hearts are in short supply, patients needing a heart transplant might need to wait months or even years for a heart to become available.