Advanced Heart Failure
Heart failure is the most common heart-related reason for hospital admission and readmission in West Virginia and surrounding regions.
Make an appointment → Meet our team →
Trust your heart care with the first and only multidisciplinary heart failure team in the state.
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- Relieve symptoms and improve quality of life
- Slow disease progression
- Reduce the need for emergency room visits and hospitalization
- Help people live longer
- Treatment options depends on the type, cause, symptoms and severity of the heart failure. Usually, more than one therapy is used.
QUICK FACTS
- First center in West Virginia to offer the Barostim™ Baroreflex Activation Therapy, the world’s first FDA-approved heart failure device to use neuromodulation, to improve the symptoms of patients with systolic heart failure who may not receive adequate symptom relief from medications alone and those who are not suited for treatment with other hear failure devices, like cardiac resynchronization therapy.
- Working in collaboration with Story Health, to improve access to specialty care for patients with heart failure. The partnership combines the WVU Heart and Vascular Institute’s leadership in clinical quality and excellence with Story Health’s specialty care platform solution to extend access and improve health outcomes for an important population.
Recognized as High Performing in Heart Failure by U.S. News & World Report as part of its 2023-24- Best Hospitals in the United States.- The first in West Virginia to successfully implant the life-saving heart pump known as a left ventricular assist device (LVAD). Now, patients in West Virginia and nearby states no longer need to leave the state to obtain this advanced heart failure therapy.
- Only center in West Virginia to offer both oral and intravenous therapies for pulmonary arterial hypertension.
- First center in West Virginia to offer heart transplant – Patients no longer need to leave the state for this life-saving therapy.
- West Virginia’s only dedicated cardio-oncology program. We provide specialized care to assist in the prevention, detection, monitoring, and treatment of cardiovascular toxicities related to cancer therapy, as well as delivering optimal care to those with cancer and established cardiovascular disease.
Recognized for Excellence in Heart Failure, receiving the Get With The Guidelines®-Heart Failure Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award for implementing specific quality improvement measures outlined by the American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology Foundation’s secondary prevention guidelines for patients with heart failure. View Certificate
Conditions and Treatments
Heart failure is one of the most common heart-related reason for hospital admission and readmission in West Virginia. Although heart failure is a serious condition that progressively gets worse over time, certain cases can be reversed with treatment. Even when the heart muscle is impaired, there are a number of treatments that can relieve symptoms and stop or slow the gradual worsening of the condition. Conditions and treatments include:
- Heart Failure
- Heart Transplant
- Barostim™ Baroreflex Activation Therapy
- Cardiogenic Shock
- Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD)
- Pulmonary Hypertension
- Cardiac Amyloidosis
- Cardiac Sarcoidosis
- Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy
- Infiltrative Heart Disease
- Cardio-Oncology
The Center for Advanced Heart Failure and Mechanical Cardiology Support
The Center for Advanced Heart Failure and Mechanical Cardiology Support, the only such center in the region, is an area of special care at WVU Medicine. It provides IV inotropic therapy to stable outpatients with advanced heart failure, with a goal of improving functional level and avoiding hospitalization. The center is an important resource for the state, reducing the number of emergency room visits and lowering health costs for heart patients. Many patients receive treatment through medication. The treatments are especially useful for patients who are at the maximum dosage of other heart drugs, people awaiting a heart transplant, or people who have a heart muscle disease. The treatment also helps patients breathe more easily.
Patient Support Groups
WVU Heart and Vascular Institute Heart Failure Facebook Support Group This private Facebook group is a resource where patients diagnosed with heart failure can connect with others while learning about their condition and its management. To join the group, visit www.facebook.com/groups/wvuheartfailure. For details, contact Debra Hairston at 304-285-7900 or email debra.hairston2@wvumedicine.org.
For more information or to schedule an appointment,
call 855-WVU-CARE (855-988-2273) or schedule online.
Our Advanced Heart Failure Faculty
George Sokos, DO
Professor and Interim Chair, Department of Cardiology
Non-Invasive and Heart Failure Cardiology
Morgantown, WV
Christopher Bianco, DO
Associate Professor
Non-Invasive and Heart Failure, Cardiology
Morgantown, WV
Marco Caccamo, DO
Associate Professor Non-Invasive and Heart Failure Cardiology Morgantown, WV View Profile →
Kevin Felpel, DO
Associate Professor Non-Invasive and Heart Failure Cardiology Morgantown, WV View Profile →
Luigi Lagazzi Garros, MD
Associate Professor Cardiac Surgery Morgantown, WV View Profile →
Affan Haleem, MD
Assistant Professor Interventional and Heart Failure Cardiology Morgantown, WV View Profile →
Brijesh Patel, DO
Assistant Professor
Non-Invasive and Heart Failure Cardiology
Morgantown, WV
Locations
Through partnerships and affiliations with local hospitals and clinics, we bring access to complete comprehensive care for patients across West Virginia, and into surrounding regions, including Maryland, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, and beyond.
WVU Heart and Vascular Institute Main Campus at J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital
1 Medical Center Drive
Morgantown, WV 26506
Phone: 877-988-4478
WVU Heart and Vascular Institute at Summersville Regional Medical Center
400 Fairview Heights Road
Summersville, WV 26651
Phone: 855-988-2273
Services: Telemedicine, Clinic
Waynesburg - Clinic
451 Murtha Drive
Waynesburg, PA
Phone: 855-WVU-CARE
WVU Heart and Vascular Institute at Wheeling Hospital
20 Medical Park, Ste. 105
Wheeling, WV 26003
Phone: 304-242-4800