One of the Nations Best Heart Failure Programs

LARGEST DEDICATED HEART FAILURE TEAM IN REGION

The Heart Failure Center of Excellence within the TGH HVI offers the most comprehensive and experienced team in the region and one of the nation’s best heart failure programs.
Our heart failure team manages all patients with heart failure, determines the best next treatment for optimal quality of life — from medical management to device implantation to transplant — and coordinates care throughout the continuum.

A multidisciplinary approach to the care of each heart failure patient involves multiple cardiac subspecialists, including interventional cardiologists, cardiac imaging specialists and electrophysiologists, cardiac surgeons, as well as endocrinologists, nephrologists, pulmonologists and sleep specialists when clinically indicated.

BREAKTHROUGH, LIFE-SAVING DEVICES

The HVI’s Heart Failure Center of Excellence is on the cutting edge of device implants, specifically, with the BAROSTIM NEO System and the EVAHEART®2 Left Ventricular Assist Device (EVA2).
The BAROSTIM NEO device has been proved to improve the quality of life for patients with Class III heart failure. TGH has begun a new study that evaluates the EVA2 for patients who have end-stage heart disease and who are not candidates for a heart transplant or are waiting for a transplant. This device offers a viable new alternative for patients with end-stage left ventricular heart failure.

COMPREHENSIVE SUBSPECIALTY CLINICS

The HF Center has established multiple niche programs to treat patients with amyloidosis, hyper-trophic and genetic cardiomyopathies, among others. An Interventional Heart Failure Program is being launched as well to offer patients TEER, Core-Cinch, BAROSTIM with the use of the BATwire Implant Kit, and other interventions available in traditional clinical settings and through national studies.
The HVI has also created a protocol-driven transition clinic to help reduce congestive heart failure re-admissions. The primary focus of care includes medical management, as well as social determinants of health that impact patient outcomes.

UNIQUE GENETIC COUNSELING PROGRAM TO DETECT FAMILIAL CARDIOMYOPATHIES

Our heart failure team collaborates with cardiac geneticists to determine inherited forms of cardio-myopathy, offer potential treatments, and afford families the opportunity to plan and determine risk. This level of genetic evaluation is unique to the HVI and sets us apart from 90% of medical centers in the U.S.

24/7 DEDICATED CARDIOGENIC SHOCK TEAM

The HVI offers the first and only comprehensive cardiogenic shock program in the Tampa Bay region. Our team is available to care for cardiogenic shock patients both within the institution and for those being transferred into the TGH Heart & Vascular Institute. A multidisciplinary team of specialists, including heart failure cardiologists, interventional cardiologists, CT surgeons and a CT-ICU intensivist, determine the best course of action for each patient. The average time from an initial intake call to plan of action is as little as five minutes. By quickly assessing patients and providing lifesaving therapy, the program has already improved patient survival.

MULTIDISCIPLINARY COLLABORATION WITH BARIATRIC SURGERY PROGRAM 

Our heart failure team works closely with bariatric surgeons to help obese heart failure patients become heart transplant candidates. For patients whose obesity and inability to lose weight make their chances too risky for a transplant, TGH provides temporary mechanical support devices before undergoing bariatric procedures. Once they’ve lost enough weight to qualify, patients can receive heart transplants with considerably better outcomes.