Health News
- U Of L Doctor Tells American Heart Association That Cardiac Stem-cell Research Shows A Lot Of Promise
Dr. Roberto BolliPromising results are coming from research that uses patients? own cardiac stem cells to heal their hearts, a Louisville doctor told colleagues this week at an American Heart Association meeting in Los Angeles. Laura Ungar of The Courier-Journal reports...
- Uk Surgeons First To Do Life-saving Lung Procedures In Tandem
Surgeons at the University of Kentucky are the first in medical history to perform two procedures in tandem to bridge a lung transplantation. The procedures were performed first on Wanda Craig, 68, who is now the oldest person to be "bridged to transplant...
- Congestive Heart Failure
Elizabeth Taylor died of congestive heart failure (CHF) at the age of 79 on March 23. Her death raises awareness of this serious condition that affects an estimated five million Americans. Congestive heart failure means that the heart muscle cannot pump...
- Women's Heart Group Offered At Northwest
Do you or someone you know have heart disease? A partnership through Northwest Hospital and the National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease is now providing support for women living with heart disease. Heart disease can include coronary heart disease,...
- Congestive Heart Failure Management Program At Northwest Hospital
Are you suffering from congestive heart failure (CHF)? The Northwest Hospital Congestive Heart Failure Management Program can help you manage your health so that you will feel better and improve your quality of life. Heart failure is a common condition...
Health News
Jewish Hospital of Louisville becomes national leader in removing heart pumps from patients with heart failure
Eleven patients with advanced heart failure were able to have their heart pumps removed thanks to a combination of medication administered at Louisville's Jewish Hospital.
Texas Heart Institute is the only other institution that has removed heart pumps, also known as left ventricular assist devices. Twenty of the devices have been removed in 10 years there. At Jewish, all 11 have been taken away in the past 18 months, Laura Ungar reports for The Courier-Journal.
The program at Jewish uses a cocktail of medicines, including ACE inhibitors, beta blockers and others, in combination with the heart pump. The medication helps strengthen the heart, allowing the pump to be eventually removed. "These patients have a very good quality of life, much better, in fact, than if they continued with the LVAD alone or received a heart transplant," said Dr. Emma Birks, director of the Jewish Hospital Heart Failure, Transplant and Mechanical Support Program.
The treatment could mean "some patients with advanced heart failure may be able to forgo a heart transplant, while others can delay having one," Ungar reports. "That could mean a longer life for younger heart failure patients with LVADs; life expectancy after a transplant averages 10 years."
Nationwide, about 5 million Americans have heart failure, which translates to 300,000 deaths a year, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute figures show. (Read more)
- U Of L Doctor Tells American Heart Association That Cardiac Stem-cell Research Shows A Lot Of Promise
Dr. Roberto BolliPromising results are coming from research that uses patients? own cardiac stem cells to heal their hearts, a Louisville doctor told colleagues this week at an American Heart Association meeting in Los Angeles. Laura Ungar of The Courier-Journal reports...
- Uk Surgeons First To Do Life-saving Lung Procedures In Tandem
Surgeons at the University of Kentucky are the first in medical history to perform two procedures in tandem to bridge a lung transplantation. The procedures were performed first on Wanda Craig, 68, who is now the oldest person to be "bridged to transplant...
- Congestive Heart Failure
Elizabeth Taylor died of congestive heart failure (CHF) at the age of 79 on March 23. Her death raises awareness of this serious condition that affects an estimated five million Americans. Congestive heart failure means that the heart muscle cannot pump...
- Women's Heart Group Offered At Northwest
Do you or someone you know have heart disease? A partnership through Northwest Hospital and the National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease is now providing support for women living with heart disease. Heart disease can include coronary heart disease,...
- Congestive Heart Failure Management Program At Northwest Hospital
Are you suffering from congestive heart failure (CHF)? The Northwest Hospital Congestive Heart Failure Management Program can help you manage your health so that you will feel better and improve your quality of life. Heart failure is a common condition...