Heart Failure Management Program

couple smilingUW Health's Heart Failure Management Program in Madison, Wisconsin, provides state-of-the-art diagnostic, medical and surgical options for all patients with heart failure.
 
We focus on disease management and rely upon the multidisciplinary expertise of a wide range of health care professionals - cardiologists, cardiovascular surgeons, nurse practitioners, nurses, left ventricular assist device (LVAD) coordinators, dietitians, social workers, financial counselors, pharmacists, exercise physiologists and integrative health specialists.
 
Meet the Heart Failure Management Program Team
 

Our Heart Failure Patients

 
Physician referral is required for treatment in our program. Our services can be of benefit to:
  • Severely ill patients who may require transplantation
  • Patients with continuing symptoms despite maximum medical management
  • Patients suffering from other diseases that complicate heart failure management
  • Patients who have difficulty following their treatment plan or making lifestyle adjustments necessary to treat heart failure
  • Patients with end-organ involvement, such as renal failure or pulmonary hypertension, that may prevent more aggressive therapy

All visits include a complete evaluation of current exercise capacity and prognosis, an assessment of the treatment plan and recommendations regarding changes in therapy.

 

Heart Failure Management Program Services

 

The Heart Failure Management Program offers:

  • The full range of diagnostic, medical and surgical options for patients with heart failure, from those who experience asymptomatic ventricular dysfunction to patients whose symptoms are severe enough to require heart transplantation
  • Destination Therapy For End-Stage Heart Failure (an option for heart failure patients who are not candidates for cardiac transplantation)
  • Expertise in unusual causes of heart muscle disease, including myocarditis, postpartum cardiomyopathy and chemotherapy-related heart disease
  • The latest in treatment options, including biventricular pacemakers, automated implantable cardioverter defibrillators (AICDs) and combination devices
  • Use of relaxation, mindfulness meditation and guided imagery
  • Education for heart failure patients and family members through one-on-one consultation
  • Ongoing research in the area of heart failure with preserved pumping function

Patient Resources

Advanced Heart Disease Support Group

 

Join us on the second Tuesday of each month as we come together to discuss subjects that affect advanced heart disease patients. Each session will be led by a social worker and a student from the University of Wisconsin School of Nursing and will include a 30-minute presentation followed by an hour for discussion. There is no charge to attend and refreshments will be served.

 

For more information, please call (608) 890-5864.

 

Additional Treatments

 
One of the key factors that makes our UW Health heart failure program different from many community hospital heart failure clinics is the advanced training and expertise that our heart failure/transplant cardiologists bring to the treatment of patients with advanced or refractory heart failure.
 
The heart failure cardiologist has sophisticated knowledge of state-of-the art drug treatments and interventions for patients with severe heart failure. Our experts are familiar with the indications for cardiac transplantation, as well as advanced devices like the left ventricular assist device (LVAD) or total artificial heart. Depending on the treatment plan for each individual heart failure patient, treatments may include: