Clinical Heart Failure ▸

CHF Clinical Heart Failure

Today, there are effective treatment options for advanced heart failure that can prolong not only survival but quality of life as well. Receiving treatment at a center that provides the full spectrum of services, as Methodist Heart and Lung institute does, is the key to a successful outcome. The program’s full-time staff of board-certified advanced heart failure and transplant cardiologists and surgeons make the program’s large patient volumes and quality outcomes possible.

CHF Clinical Heart Failure Because of the program’s longevity, comprehensiveness, volumes, and quality, the team is able to partner with the medical device industry to bring a wide range of devices to patients. As a result, Methodist Heart and Lung Institute has the largest selection of MCS devices available. The hospital is one of only 10 centers nationwide using the newest left ventricular assist device (LVAD) technology, for example. Additionally, the hospital’s expert team helped to write the protocols that govern the use of temporary support devices. The program was the origin of the hospital’s renowned ECMO program, and the hospital’s heart transplant volume in 2021 place it among the top quartile of centers in the nation. Patient and family education is another strength of the program. The team is committed to helping patients live well with this chronic disease, empowering them to take the necessary steps to deal with the disease effectively. Overall, this multidisciplinary program seeks to treat a disease process, not just offer a therapy. Through a team-based approach, Methodist Heart and Lung Institute cares for patients across the full spectrum of end-stage heart and lung disease.

HEART FAILURE CLINIC REFERRALS

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Michael Kwan, md

Program Director, Advanced Heart Failure and Cardiac Transplant Program, Methodist Hospital

Because Methodist Heart and Lung Institute is a comprehensive advanced heart failure center, we have the widest range of heart failure treatment options at our disposal – more tools in our toolbox, so to speak. Rather than offering several small, focused services in clinical heart failure, MCS, and heart transplant, we have rolled all of these capabilities into one program. By consolidating expertise in all of these areas, Methodist Heart and Lung Institute can offer patients unparalleled clinical depth and breath, with a seamless patient experience.

Going forward, we seek to continue increasing awareness in San Antonio and across South Texas of the range of therapies that are available through our program. We are proud to have maintained our excellent outcomes as the program has grown and expanded, and we have robust systems in place to enable us to continue maintaining top quality.

We are also dedicated to developing our PH program in partnership with our pulmonology colleagues. PH’s symptoms and disease process have important similarities to heart failure and are often confused with heart failure. Diagnostic imaging and therapeutic options for PH are highly specialized, and our team’s cardiologists and pulmonologists are certified in using them.

As a large, high-volume program, we are routinely invited to participate in device and pharmacologic trials. That means that we’re aware of cutting-edge technologies and new medications before they’re widely available. We can truly say that we have the widest range of treatment options for our patients. We also help to train the next generation of heart failure specialists, including cardiology, nurse practitioner, and pharmacy residents.

We remain on the forefront of end-stage heart and lung disease – not only by teaching, but by doing. Our unmatched experience sets us apart from every other center in Texas, and we look forward to continued growth on the horizon.