heart failure

As the first medical center in Southern California to receive Joint Commission certification for heart failure, UC Irvine remains at the forefront of therapeutic advances that are helping heart failure and heart muscle disease. The program provides patients with superior inpatient and outpatient services and is dedicated to guidelines-based comprehensive management of heart failure patients. In addition, the program continues to develop new treatments for heart failure through clinical research.

UC Irvine’s heart failure program earned a Gold Seal of Approval™ certification for quality from The Joint Commission, the nation’s predominant standards-setting and accrediting body in healthcare. In order to receive this certification, an organization must undergo a voluntary on-site survey by a Joint Commission survey team at least every two years and must meet performance standards in key areas, such as patients’ rights, patient treatment and infection control.

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Diagnosis

The diagnosis of heart failure and cardiomyopathy includes:

• A physical exam and lab tests
• Chest X-ray and EKG
• Echocardiogram
• Angiography
• Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS)
• Cardiac catheterization
• Nuclear scans, such as a MUGA test
• Endomyocardial biopsies. This procedure involves the removal of a smallsample of heart-muscle tissue through a catheter for microscopicanalysis.
• Other tests. Among the possible causes of heart failure and cardiomyopathy are heart infections, valve dysfunctions, high blood pressure and previous heart attacks. Other tests may be necessary to identify the cause.

Medical Management

Expert medical management helps many heart-failure and cardiomyopathy patients improve their physical and emotional well-being. The goal is to improve the heart’s ability to pump, increase blood circulation, remove excess fluid build-up and prevent rhythm abnormalities. Therapy may include:

• Medication
• Pacemakers
• Left ventricular assist devices
• Lifestyle changes

Medication

The key to treatment for most heart-failure and cardiomyopathy patients is drug therapy, including:

• ACE inhibitors
• Beta blockers
• Calcium channel blockers
• Diuretics (water pills)
• Digitalis
• Aldosterone inhibitors

Pacemakers

Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) devices, also known as biventricular pacemakers, make the lower chambers (ventricles) of the heart contract simultaneously, resulting in better cardiac function. There are also pacemakers that combine biventricular pacing with defibrillation, which jump-start the heart or control abnormally fast or slow heart rhythms when needed.

Left ventricular assist devices (LVAD)

LVADs are small pumps implanted in the left ventricle of the heart. They provide mechanical support by helping to circulate blood and oxygen throughout the body. These devices are used in the management of people with advanced heart failure or cardiomyopathy, as well as those awaiting heart transplantation.

Lifestyle changes

Lifestyle changes are an important part of treatment. Our comprehensive program offers education on symptom control and help with risk factors such as high blood pressure, obesity and smoking cessation. A monitored exercise program and support groups are essential elements of the program. Additionally, patients have access to one-on-one consultation with dietitians, pharmacists, exercise physiologists and others.

Research and clinical trials

Over the years, UC Irvine Medical Center has been the site of numerous clinical trials for heart failure and cardiomyopathy therapies, including CRT, new medications and other leading-edge approaches. A wide range of basic, hemodynamic and clinical research related to cardiomyopathy, heart failure and cardiac transplantation is constantly underway at UC Irvine Medical Center. This has resulted in many novel research programs that benefit patients and help medical professionals around the world to refine treatment for these life-altering conditions.