Heart Failure Care
Heart failure, also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), occurs when the heart can no longer pump enough blood to meet the body's needs. Different from a heart attack, heart failure is a chronic, long-term condition that prevents the heart from functioning effectively.
Heart disease specialists at Laredo Medical Center utilize advanced diagnostic technology to determine the cause and extent of heart failure. Doctors and nurses who specialize in congestive heart failure provide a heart failure management program that offers:
- Medical management - Medications, such as ACE inhibitors, are used to lower high blood pressure, eliminate excess water, prevent clotting, slow heart rate or alter hormones that affect the heart and blood flow. Cardiologists can develop a program that combines medication and lifestyle changes to effectively manage heart disease or heart failure.
- Risk-factor management - Lifestyle changes such as losing weight and eating more healthfully, controlling blood pressure, abstaining from alcohol and smoking, and getting enough rest can help improve heart health and prevent further damage or heart disease.
- Minimally invasive cardiac catheterization techniques - Outpatient procedures such as angioplasty and stent placement are used to open blocked arteries and blood vessels.
- Surgery - Experienced cardiac surgeons utilize advanced technology to deliver heart failure treatment, including implantable devices such as pacemakers and defibrillators. This could even include a heart transplant for patients with end-stage heart failure. Surgeons use minimally invasive techniques whenever possible.