Heart Failure

The Region’s Leading Heart Failure Specialists

We know that having heart failure can be overwhelming. At UMass Memorial Health, a compassionate team helps you understand heart failure and how to manage it. We work with you to select the treatments that can help you lead a fuller life.

Our board-certified cardiologists and advanced practice providers have specialized expertise in all stages of heart failure and are fellowship-trained in advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology. We offer catheter-guided treatments, surgery, mechanical circulatory support and follow-up care after heart transplantation.

We are also the region’s only ventricular assist device (VAD) program. A VAD helps your heart pump blood. People with late-stage heart failure who are waiting for a heart transplant or are too sick for surgery don’t have to travel far for this lifesaving device.

What Is Heart Failure?

Your heart is a muscle that pumps oxygen-rich blood throughout your body. When you have heart failure, your heart can’t pump blood as well as it should. Your cells don’t get enough blood and oxygen, so you might feel tired, short of breath or unable to do everyday activities.

Causes of heart failure may include heart attack, infections, inherited disorders, such as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, familial dilated cardiomyopathy, cardiac amyloidosis, and high blood pressure among many other causes.

There is no cure for heart failure, but lifestyle changes and medications can help. If your disease worsens and does not respond to treatments, advanced treatments may be needed.

Heart failure is a serious condition that can lead to kidney or liver damage, an irregular heartbeat or even cardiac arrest (sudden loss of heart function). While there is no cure for heart failure, there are excellent treatments available. 

Our Approach to Heart Failure Treatment

Our team is committed to delivering individualized, advanced care for heart failure patients to help you feel better and regain a normal life. As leaders in heart failure treatment, we offer a wide range of tailored treatment options designed to improve symptoms and enhance quality of life.

Our Heart Failure Program offers:

• Implanted devices: An implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) is a device we put in your chest to control your heart rhythm.
• Cardiac rehabilitation: Our cardiac rehab programs help you regain heart function and endurance after surgery or a heart attack.
• Medication: State-of-the-art medications can help you feel better and live longer while helping prevent progression of your heart failure.
• Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT): An electrophysiologist inserts a biventricular pacemaker that coordinates your left- and right-side heartbeats.
• Heart surgery: Depending on the cause of heart failure, we may recommend heart valve surgery, coronary artery bypass graft surgery or another procedure.
• Ventricular assist device (VAD): A VAD is a surgically implanted device that helps your heart pump blood if you have advanced heart failure.
• Heart transplant evaluation: We select the right candidates for heart transplantation and refer them to Tufts Medical Center in Boston.
• Post-transplant care: Our cardiologists provide comprehensive follow-up care, testing and medication management after heart transplantation.
• Transcatheter mitral valve repair: This is a minimally invasive procedure for those with mitral valve regurgitation, which can lead to heart failure.
• Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO): Temporary heart and lung support for critically ill patients.

Our heart failure programs and specialty clinics can treat a range of conditions:

• Pulmonary Hypertension Program
• Cardiac Amyloidosis Program
• Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy
• Cardio-Oncology Clinic
• Muscular Dystrophy Multidisciplinary Clinic
• Post-Cardiac Transplant Clinics
• Heart Failure Pharmacy Clinic 

Keeping You at Home, Not in the Hospital

When you have heart failure, you want to spend time enjoying life. Our unique services help keep you out of the hospital while still providing the care you need:

• CardioMEMS™ HF System: A small sensor placed inside your pulmonary artery alerts your doctor if the pressure in your lungs increases, a sign of heart failure getting worse. Your provider adjusts your medication as needed, without you ever leaving home.
• Hospital at Home: UMass Memorial Health’s Hospital at Home offers several convenient services to keep you safe and comfortable at home. These include telemedicine appointments, in-home nursing visits, remote patient monitoring and medication delivery.
• Mobile Integrated Health (MIH): MIH offers telehealth visits with emergency medicine physicians and in-home visits from specially trained paramedics. This unique service can help people with heart failure avoid unnecessary hospitalization.
• Digital Health: UMass Memorial Health's Digital Health Clinic uses devices that monitor your health in your home, spotting changes early and alerting your provider for them to assess your condition.