Congestive Heart Failure
As the only hospital in the region to offer multi-organ transplantation, The Nebraska Medical Center’s advanced congestive heart failure (CHF) and cardiac transplantation program is built on long tradition of solid organ transplant expertise.
Now patients have access to a complete advanced heart disease treatment, including LVAD and cardiac transplantation close to home, which allows them to continue to be involved in their community with the support of their friends and family.
The program at the medical center is run as a heart failure disease management program which offers each patient comprehensive evaluation and treatment options.
- Heart failure cardiologists, certified in advanced heart failure and cardiac transplantation.
- Transplant cardiac surgeons
- Advanced heart failure nurse coordinators with cardiac transplantation certification and critical care expertise who provide 24/7 patient care.
- A multi-disciplinary team of experts who meet weekly to review each patient and determine the best advanced heart failure therapy
- social work coordinators
- psychologists
- financial service representatives
- pharmacists, dieticians
- cardiac rehabilitation
- cardiac imaging experts
Advanced Medical Therapies
When a patient receives medical CHF treatment, at The Nebraska Medical Center, a physician follows the patient closely. Several different types of medications and devices are used to:
- Reverse cardiac damage
- ACEI/ARB
- beta-blockers
- Aldosterone receptor blockers
- Improve survival
- ACEI/ARB, beta-blockers
- Aldosterone receptor blockers
- ICD
- CRT
- Improve symptoms
- Diuretics
- Digoxin
- Improve quality of life
- Heart failure education
- Exercise
- Healthy life style counseling
- Diet education
Dedicated heart failure educators are available both inpatient as well as outpatient to answer any questions and follow progress, assisting with self-care.
Mechanical Assist Devices such as the Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD)
A left ventricular assist device (LVAD) is a battery-operated mechanical assist device that is implanted by a cardiac surgeon to help maintain the pumping ability of the heart. The Nebraska Medical Center has the only approved LVAD program in the region. Patients with end stage heart failure can receive an LVAD as a bridge to cardiac transplantation or if this is not an option as destination therapy to improve quality of life.
The need for a mechanical assist device has become a critical therapeutic option for advanced heart failure. Very sick patients who might not otherwise survive while they wait for a donor heart to become available benefit from the LVAD heart disease treatment option. Patients who are too sick to survive a heart transplant, the LVAD buys them time to recover and become stronger for a transplant. This also offers young patients valuable time for their own heart to recover.
When heart transplantation is not a viable treatment option due to advanced age or concurrent medical conditions, the device is being used more frequently for long-term therapy, also known as destination therapy.
Heart Transplant
In cases of severe CHF, heart transplantation may be an option. After careful and thorough multidisciplinary evaluation, patients are evaluated and listed for cardiac transplantation if deemed suitable candidates after all medical and surgical options for heart failure have been exhausted.
Read more about heart transplantation at The Nebraska Medical Center.
Make an Appointment
To make an appointment with a CHF treatment specialist please call 800-922-0000 or visit the find a physician link.
Heart Failure Cardiologists
- Ioana Dumitru, MD
- Eugenia Raichlin, MD
- Brian Lowes, MD
Cardiac Surgeons
- John Y. Um, MD
- Kim F. Duncan, MD
- James M. Hammel, MD
Learn more about related Cardiac Conditions and Diseases
Make an Appointment
Call: 800.922.0000
