This procedure is also called the SAVER or Dor procedure after its inventor, Dr. Vicent Dor of Monaco. When a heart attack occurs, a part of the heart muscle dies and a scar forms. The...
This procedure is also called the Batista procedure, after its inventor Dr. Randas Batista, a Brazilian heart surgeon, who developed this technique. When per-forming this procedure, a section of the left ventricular wall is removed....
Ventricular remodeling procedures are complex heart surgeries. During the surgery, the chest is opened and the heart is stopped. The patient is placed on a “bypass pump” while the surgeon works. These procedures change the...
Diseases of the heart valves can be a common cause of heart failure. During valve surgery, the valves may be either repaired or replaced. In appropriate patients, valve surgery may significantly reduce the severity of...
Patients with heart failure and severe coronary artery disease often benefit from angioplasty or bypass surgery. The surgery increases blood flow to the heart muscle. This may enhance the heart’s pumping action and help to...
About 4,000 people in the United States await heart transplants each year. During a typical year, only about 2,500 donor hearts become available. Some of the 4,000 people awaiting heart transplants have nonreversible biventricular failure,...
Ventricular assist devices (VADs) are machines that help improve pumping actions. A left ventricular assist device (LVAD) either takes over or assists the pumping role of the left ventricle, the heart’s main pumping chamber. Newer...
The intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) is helpful for maintaining heart function in people with left-side failure who are waiting for transplants as well as for those who develop a sudden and severe deterioration of heart...
A growing array of heart devices and machines are changing the face of heart failure treatment. They have gained widespread acceptance for use as a bridge to transplant in patients who are on medications but...
Some patients with heart failure experience fast, irregular heartbeats. These heartbeats can just be annoying, make you weak and dizzy, or even result in death. Sometimes medicines are used to control these fast heart rates....
Yes. Because of the changes in the heart that occur with heart failure, patients with heart failure may experience irregular heartbeats also known as arrhythmias. A pace-maker can help manage these irregular heart rhythms when...
Other drugs that are sometimes used to treat CHF include: Brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) is a small peptide produced in the left ventricle and is released when the left ventricle experiences dilation or increased pressure....
All blood thinners (anticoagulants) can result in unintended bleeding. Although this usually is manifested with only mild bruising, serious complications such as bleeding in the stomach, intestines, and the brain are possible. Blood thinners are...
Although they are called blood thinners (anticoagulants), these medicines do not really thin your blood. Instead, they decrease the blood’s ability to clot. De-creased clotting keeps fewer harmful blood clots from forming and from blocking...
In addition to its effects on the heart, digitalis may cause nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, diarrhea, con-fusion, and new heartbeat irregularities. Digitalis toxicity can occur in any patient although the elderly and those with...
Digitalis is a medication derived from the foxglove plant and has been used to treat heart problems for over two centuries. The principal clinical uses currently are in the treatment of CHF and in the...
I’ve heard there are new kinds of beta blockers available. Are they helpful in CHF? One new medication recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), carvedilol, was found to be of significant value...
Beta blockers are a class of drugs that reduce the amount of work the heart does and decrease irregular heartbeats. Beta blockers work by “blocking” the effects of adrenaline on your body. As a result,...
BiDil® is an orally administered nitric oxide-enhancing medicine. BiDil® is a combination of two drugs, isosorbide dinitrate and hydralazine hydrochloride, that dilate arteries and veins. This combination therapy has been recently approved for treatment of...
Hydralazine widens blood vessels, easing blood flow and increasing circulation. It also may increase the contractility of the heart muscle. Hydralazine is not as frequently used as diuretics and ACE inhibitors, but does have a...
Nitrates are a class of drug that causes dilation of the blood vessels in the body. The dilation of blood vessels reduces the blood pressure and the amount of work the heart has to do...
I’ve heard the term ARBs when talking about medicine for CHF. What are ARBs? ARB stands for angiotensin receptor blocker. It is a drug, like the ACE inhibitors (see the previous question), that blocks the...
About 10 percent of heart failure patients develop a chronic, irritating cough from ACE inhibitor use. This cough may resolve on its own, but if not, other brands of ACE inhibitors or newer drugs called...
ACE inhibitors and vasodilators expand blood vessels, thereby allowing the heart to function more efficiently. Before discussing what ACE inhibitors are, it is appropriate to discuss what ACE is. ACE stands for angiotensin-converting enzyme. As...
Side effects are unwanted conditions caused by a drug. These might include, for example, getting a rash from taking penicillin or a headache from taking nitroglycerin. Diuretics can cause side effects and patients should be...