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Advanced Heart Failure Clinic

Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Temple

Advanced Heart Failure (AHF) Program in Temple

The Advanced Heart Failure Program at Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Temple is a comprehensive, technologically innovative program. Our team of experts consists of EMS/ambulance staff and emergency room physicians and staff where emergent diagnostic studies are performed, which may show a heart attack in progress.

An acute myocardial infraction or heart attack diagnosis will activate the interventional cardiology team to perform emergent PCI to open a blocked artery usually within 90 minutes. This highly specialized team cares for the most critically ill heart failure patients 24/7. The most common presentation for patients with heart failure is an acute decompensation in heart function leading to cardiogenic shock. 

Short-term advanced heart failure management techniques include:

  • Intravenous Ionotropic support
  • Intra-Aortic Balloon Pump (IABP)
  • Impella CP (Percutaneous Ventricular Assist Device/VAD)
  • VA ECMO
  • Trans Axillary Impella 5.0 or 5.5
  • Bi VAD

Long-term heart failure management includes:

Heart failure management techniques

Learn about both short-term and long-term advanced heart failure management techniques.

  • Short-term techniques
  • Long-term techniques

Short-term techniques

  • Intravenous Ionotropic support
  • Intra-Aortic Balloon Pump (IABP)
  • Impella CP (Percutaneous Ventricular Assist Device/VAD)
  • VA ECMO
  • Trans Axillary Impella 5.0 or 5.5
  • Bi VAD

Long-term techniques

Cardio MEMS Heart Failure System

The CardioMEMS Heart Failure (HF) System is the first and only FDA-approved heart failure monitoring device proven to significantly reduce hospital admissions. Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Temple is the first hospital in the area to implant this new device.

Traditionally, changes in weight and blood pressure are indirect measures of worsening heart failure. Another indicator is elevation in pulmonary artery pressure, which appears before weight and blood pressure changes.

The CardioMEMS HF System:

  • Features a miniaturized, wireless monitoring sensor that is implanted in the pulmonary artery (PA) during a minimally invasive outpatient procedure
  • Allows patients to transmit daily PA pressure readings from their homes to their healthcare providers, allowing for personalized and proactive management to reduce the likelihood of hospitalization and onset of debilitating symptoms

 

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Benefits of ongoing monitoring

Once the device is implanted, readings are transmitted to our advanced heart failure clinic, where our healthcare team routinely monitors pressures for subtle changes. If one is seen, our team proactively contacts the patient with management guidance.

The readings are also automatically added to the patient's electronic medical record so our integrated team of Baylor Scott & White providers—from primary care providers to specialists, like cardiologists—have access to the full picture of health while making treatment recommendations.

To be eligible for the CardioMEMS HF System treatment, individuals must have New York Heart Association class III (moderate) heart failure and a hospitalization for heart failure within the past 12 months.

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