The Latest in Heart Failure Care
Our heart failure specialist explains why the Center for Advanced Heart Failure is the best choice.
Ronald S. Freudenberger, M.D.
Medical Director, Center for Advanced Heart Failure
Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network
Professor of Medicine
Penn State College of Medicine More >>
- What is the Center for Advanced Heart Failure?
- What makes the care at the Center for Advanced Heart Failure unique?
- What research studies are being conducted at the Center for Advanced Heart Failure?
Q: What is the Center for Advanced Heart Failure?
A: The Center for Advanced Heart Failure is a 12-bed unit at Lehigh Valley Hospital - Cedar Crest. It is the only facility in the region under the medical direction of a heart failure specialist.
The center is designed to help patients with a difficult to manage heart failure condition. Patients who experience shortness of breath with minor exertion and those who have had numerous hospitalizations will benefit from our specialized care. We improve patients’ quality of life through an approach that includes:
- Evidence-based treatment and research
- Patient-focused care from a multidisciplinary team
- Nurses who have additional education and experience in the management of heart failure
- A continuum of care from hospital to home
- Bimonthly support group meetings
Q: What makes the care at the Center for Advanced Heart Failure unique?
A: Patients receive disease-specific monitoring and optimized drug therapies. Their needs are frequently reassessed throughout their hospitalization. Collaborative rounds are held daily during which a patient’s physician, nurse practitioner, dietitian, case manager and nurses meet daily to discuss the patient’s progress and treatment options. Patients have the opportunity to participate in clinical trials. Plus, members of the heart failure team provide patient education and counseling on effective lifestyle changes and self-care to improve symptoms and quality of life.
Q: What research studies are being conducted at the Center for Advanced Heart Failure?
A: Three studies are currently under way. The first is studying the effectiveness of an implantable device that detects increased pressure inside the heart due to fluid retention. By holding a device to their chest, patients transmit information to the hospital via phone lines. Physicians use the information to determine if medications need to be adjusted because the pressure is too high or low.
Our second study (WARCEF) is an international study sponsored by the National Institutes of Health. This trial is determining which is superior in preventing stroke in patients with heart failure, the anticoagulant warfarin or aspirin.
The third is studying the effectiveness of nesiritide, a drug that relaxes blood vessels and increases the supply of oxygen to the heart while reducing its workload.
This page last updated 4/21/08 01:35 PM
