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Heart Failure Care & Treatment

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Call 786-204-4200
Heart Failure Care & Treatment

Heart failure can make you feel weak and exhausted. When your heart isn’t working as well as it should, you need expert care to help strengthen it. At Baptist Health, we’re committed to finding a treatment that can help you recapture a more active life.

When you come to our heart failure program, you’ll receive comprehensive care from a multidisciplinary team of experts. We use the latest technologies and most advanced medical therapies to reduce your symptoms and give you more energy.

As your partner in heart failure care, we’re here to help you build a stronger heart.

Our Approach to Heart Failure

Our Approach to Heart Failure

When you come to us for heart failure treatment, we focus on two things — giving you comprehensive, convenient care and keeping you out of the hospital. The multidisciplinary team of experts in our heart failure program work together closely to offer you the widest range of heart failure treatment options. Together, we work together to provide you seamless care that you can count on.

Helping you live a long, full, active life is our priority.

  • 5 million

    An estimated 5 million Americans currently live with congestive heart failure (CHF).

  • 550,000

    Each year in the U.S., 550,000 new cases of heart failure are diagnosed.

  • 1.4 million

    Americans under the age of 60 are currently diagnosed with congestive heart failure.

What is Heart Failure?

“Heart failure” means your heart isn’t strong enough to pump as much blood as it should to reach every part of your body. In some cases, blood and fluid can back up into your lungs (pulmonary edema).

Heart failure is commonly misunderstood and underdiagnosed. Getting a timely diagnosis is important, though, because it’s a lifelong condition that gets worse without treatment.

Heart Failure Symptoms

Heart failure symptoms can be mild or severe. It’s possible you may not feel symptoms at all. If you do have signs, they can appear suddenly, or you may notice them develop slowly over time.

If you feel any of these symptoms, talk with your doctor:

  • Chest pain
  • Dry, hacking cough
  • Fatigue
  • Full, hard stomach
  • Heart palpitations
  • Loss of appetite or upset stomach
  • Need to urinate while resting at night
  • Shortness of breath
  • Swelling in the ankles, legs, or abdomen
  • Waking up short of breath at night
  • Weight gain

Diagnosing Heart Failure

Heart failure symptoms can be slightly different for everyone, which can make diagnosis harder. So, we use advanced diagnostic cardiac testing to get the answers you need.

To pinpoint your exact diagnosis, we rely on leading-edge technologies, including:

  • Cardiac computed tomography (CT)
  • Cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
  • Chest X-ray
  • 3D and 4D echocardiography

By using these next-generation imaging tools, we can create a treatment plan that is personalized to your specific needs.

Heart Failure Treatment

Finding the right heart failure treatment can help you reclaim a more active life. Whenever possible, we will try medication therapy first. But our highly skilled specialists are also trained to deliver the most sophisticated care through leading-edge techniques. We can help you find the treatment option that is best for you.

  • Your surgeon threads a long, thin tube (a catheter) carrying a small balloon through a vein in your groin to the blocked coronary artery. They inflate the balloon to open the artery for more blood flow and then implant a small, expandable metal mesh coil (a stent) to keep the artery open.

  • Damaged heart muscle can create abnormal heart rhythms that can cause death. Once implanted, this device can sense these abnormal rhythms and send a shock to get the heart back on pace.

  • These medications are delivered as infusions. They strengthen how hard your heart can contract, increasing the amount of blood it can pump with every beat.

  • These techniques focus on reducing swelling in your arms and legs. They include exercises that gently contract your muscles, massage-like techniques that help with fluid drainage, and compression bandages or clothing that also encourage fluid drainage.

  • These devices help your heart function when it’s not working at its best. This includes ventricular assist devices that help pump blood from your heart to the rest of your body so you can walk more.

  • This implanted device helps restore your heart’s ability to contract at a normal, regular pace by sending electrical signals through wires on either side of your heart.

"As we say, it’s important to know your numbers, such as glucose (blood sugar), cholesterol and blood pressure. It’s vital to decrease stress levels and take your medicines as prescribed. Follow up with your doctor as needed."
Sandra Chaparro, M.D. Cardiologist
Read Full Story

Our Heart Failure Clinic

Your heart failure treatment with us doesn’t end when you leave the hospital. We offer a Heart Failure Clinic that’s designed to keep you out of the hospital, so you stay healthier long-term.

We encourage all our heart failure patients to participate in the clinic within 10 days of leaving the hospital since most re-hospitalizations happen within the first 30 days after discharge. We will run several diagnostic tests, including blood tests and X-rays, to assess your heart failure recovery. Based on the results, we may make changes to your care plan.

Heart failure is a lifelong condition, so you are welcome to come back to the clinic for routine check-ups and treatment changes.

Meet Our Heart Failure Specialists

We have an outstanding, diverse team of heart failure experts who are ready to deliver the compassionate, thorough care you need. Our electrophysiologists, interventional cardiologists, lipidologists, surgeons and rehabilitation specialists work together to provide a comprehensive heart failure program.

Our Locations

Cardiology | Kendall

8950 North Kendall Drive
Suite #507W
Miami, Florida 33176
Call 786-204-4204

Cardiology | Kendall (Galloway)

7400 SW 87 Avenue
Suite #100
Miami, Florida 33173
Call 786-204-4201

Clinical Trials

At Baptist Health, our dedication to keeping you out of the hospital reaches beyond our clinic. Our heart and vascular specialists are involved in leading-edge studies testing new surgeries and medical therapies for heart failure recovery. If you’re interested in being a partner in our research and want to learn more about our clinical trials, talk with your doctor or look through our list of ongoing trials.

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