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Success at Every Stage
At Penn, our internationally recognized Heart Failure and Transplantation Program offers breakthroughs for early prevention strategies in addition to end-stage options.
Studies suggest the mortality linked to heart failure can be attributed in part to a fragmented management of this progressive disease. At the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP), we have developed a program for heart failure management that provides a seamless continuum of care to address the chronic,
progressive nature of heart failure, its effects ands co-morbidities from its earliest stages onward.
Our Heart Failure and Transplantation Program at Penn is made up of a multidisciplinary team of specialists and clinicians whose experience spans the breadth and depth of heart failure care. The team includes some of the nation's finest cardiovascular and transplant surgeons, as well as specialists in cardiology, cardiac imaging, pulmonary medicine, infectious disease, immunology and rehabilitation medicine.
An Innovative Approach to Early-to-
Mid-Stage Heart Failure
The management of early and mid-stage heart failure (Stages A and B) at Penn is focused upon the early identification and control of risk factors for patients with
coronary heart disease, hypertension,
diabetes and other conditions that can
lead to heart failure. Early medical
treatment of these conditions, with patient education and risk factor reduction, may delay or prevent the onset of many of the debilitating effects of heart failure.
“In designing a heart failure management program, it's important to embrace continuity of care, ideally before the first symptoms appear, to ensure consistent, appropriate treatment throughout the natural course of the disease.”
– Mariell Jessup, MD,
Medical Director,
Heart Failure & Transplantation Program |
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Advanced Care for Mid-Stage Heart Failure
Patients with Stage C heart failure have symptoms despite medical management and may have heart rhythm disorders or progressive heart damage. At Penn, these patients are candidates for innovative surgical interventions and implanted cardiac devices.
Mechanical Circulatory Support Systems for End-Stage Heart Failure
Long at the forefront of surgical innovation, the Heart Failure and Transplantation Program at HUP has become the
region's leading advocate of mechanical circulatory support systems for patients awaiting heart transplantation. Patients in end-stage (Stage D) heart failure at Penn are offered a full spectrum of care that combines medical management, an advanced mechanical circulatory support system, and for selected patients, heart transplantation. Penn offers many of the world's most sophisticated ventricular assist devices (VADS) for end-stage heart failure and heart transplantation patients.
Bridging to Transplant
The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania became the first heart transplant center in the region to be certified for temporary total artificial heart (TAH-t) implantation. The TAH-t replaces the heart completely, and is considered the gold standard for bridge-to-transplantation for patients awaiting a donor heart or at imminent risk of death.
Heart Transplantation
For eligible patients in end-stage heart failure, we offer the hope for survival and improved quality of life. Our heart transplantation program is ranked among the top 10 in the country. Our team of cardiovascular and heart transplantation surgeons are internationally recognized for their expertise gained from performing an average of 50 transplants a year for the last decade.
In fact, the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania performed more transplants last year than all other Philadelphia area hospitals combined. Which is why, when it comes to serious heart problems, where you turn first matters most.
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