Summa Health heart failure experts are specially trained to assess, treat and provide acute and long-term care for people with any stage of heart failure. To optimize outcomes, we provide a comprehensive and multi-disciplinary team approach led by heart failure physicians. This team collaborates on all stages of care, from early stabilization to transitional care and ongoing monitoring.
In fact, the Summa Health System — Akron Campus holds an accreditation as a Heart Failure Center from the American College of Cardiology (ACC), demonstrating our expertise in treating patients across the continuum of care.
Heart Failure Symptoms
With heart failure, you may not have any symptoms or they may vary from mild to severe and include:
- Shortness of breath
- Increased fatigue or tiredness
- Swelling, or edema, of the legs, feet or abdomen
- Cough and/or lung congestion
- Fast, irregular heartbeats
- Inability to lie flat when in bed due to breathing difficulties
Common Causes of Heart Failure
If you have heart failure, chances are you have (or had) one or more of the conditions listed below. Some of these can be present without your knowing it. Typically, these conditions cause the "wear and tear" that leads to heart failure. Having more than one of these factors dramatically increases your risk.
- Coronary Artery Disease - when cholesterol and fatty deposits build up in the heart's arteries, less blood can reach the heart muscle. This buildup is known as atherosclerosis. The result may be chest pain (angina) or, if blood flow becomes totally obstructed, a heart attack. Coronary artery disease can also contribute to having high blood pressure, which may lead to heart failure over time.
- High Blood Pressure (Hypertension) - uncontrolled HBP is a major risk factor for developing heart failure. When pressure in the blood vessels is too high, the heart must pump harder than normal to keep the blood circulating. This takes a toll on the heart, and over time the chambers get larger and weaker. For those at risk of developing heart failure, your doctor might prescribe medication to get your blood pressure below 130/80 mm Hg.
- Abnormal Heart Valves - heart valve problems can result from disease, infection (endocarditis) or a defect present at birth. When the valves don't open or close completely during each heartbeat, the heart muscle has to pump harder to keep the blood moving. If the workload becomes too great, heart failure results.
- Heart Muscle Disease - any damage to the heart muscle – whether because of drug or alcohol use, viral infections or unknown reasons – increases the risk of heart failure. The infiltrative cardiomyopathies (amyloidosis, sarcoidosis, and hemochromatosis) are acquired and inherited diseases characterized by the deposition of abnormal biological substances within the heart that can lead to cardiac dysfunction, arrhythmias or heart failure. Cardiomyopathies can cause the heart muscle to become larger or more rigid, which can make it harder for the heart to pump blood properly and maintain a normal rhythm.
- Heart Defects Present at Birth - if the heart and its chambers don't form correctly, the healthy parts have to work harder to compensate.
Specialized Programs for Complex Heart Conditions
At Summa Health, our subspecialty programs bring together multidisciplinary experts to deliver advanced, coordinated care for patients with unique or high-risk cardiac needs.
Treatment for Heart Failure
While there is no cure for heart failure, there are ways to work with your doctor to control your symptoms and improve your quality of life. Depending on your condition, your individualized treatment care plan may include:
- Lifestyle Changes and Medical Management - we work closely with surgical weight loss, medical nutrition therapy, and cardiac rehab to emphasize nutritional support and aggressively manage diabetes and other co-morbid conditions that often worsen outcomes in heart failure patients.
- Diagnostic and Monitoring Technologies - CardioMEMs are sensors that monitor the pressure in your pulmonary artery. You take a daily home reading using the Patient Electronics System, which sends the information to your doctor. After analyzing the information, your doctor may make medication changes to help treat your heart failure.
- VADs (Ventricular assist devices) - a VAD is a mechanical device that helps treat advanced heart failure, a condition in which the heart is unable to pump enough blood to meet your body’s needs.
- ECMO (Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) - used in emergencies, ECMO is an in-hospital mode of life support for patients with acute respiratory or cardiac failure. It replaces the actions of either the lungs or both the heart and the lungs, supplying oxygenated blood to the body.
- Experimental Devices and Medications - our team routinely enrolls in many of the most cutting-edge clinical trials available in the country. These devices and medications often require careful screening and monitoring but can provide potentially lifesaving opportunities before available on the market.
Barostim
When it comes to physical activity, patients with advanced heart failure have limitations. They often experience fatigue, palpitation or shortness of breath. Barostim is used to improve these symptoms in patients with advanced heart failure, particularly those who are not suited for treatment with other heart failure devices. It is the only heart failure device therapy that does not require any hardware in your heart or blood vessels.
How Barostim Works
Barostim is a pacemaker-like device designed to stimulate baroreceptors – natural sensors in your body that tell your brain how to control your heart, kidneys and blood vessels.
In heart failure patients, baroreceptors tell the brain to release a high amount of stress related hormones, in hopes of improving heart function. These hormones make a weak heart work too hard, leading to an onset or worsening of heart failure symptoms. Barostim interrupts this process by stimulating baroreceptors to tell the brain to reduce the amount of stress-hormones in the body. These effects relax the heart and blood vessels, allow the heart to work more efficiently, and relieve heart failure symptoms.
Who Is Eligible
Patients may be eligible for the Barostim implant if they:
- Have a diagnosis of heart failure with a reduced ejection fraction (EF) of 35% or less
- Are receiving optimal heart failure medications prescribed by a cardiologist
- Have symptoms that significantly impact daily life and reduce the number of activities they are able to perform
- Are not indicated for other advanced heart failure devices
Safe and Simple Procedure
The Barostim procedure takes place at the Summa Health System – Akron Campus. The Barostim is implanted below the collar bone and connected to a lead that attaches to the carotid artery in the neck. After the device is implanted, a physician tests and programs the device.
The procedure typically takes less than an hour and patients may go home the same day. Once implanted, you'll only need to visit your doctor for routine check-ups. During these follow-ups, your doctor will ensure the device settings are optimized to best improve your heart failure symptoms.
Potential Risks
Risks associated with the surgical implant procedure are similar to those from implanting a pacemaker. Patients implanted with the device are anticipated to be exposed to operative and post-operative risk similar to related surgical procedures involving the neck and chest.