Heart Failure & Transplantation

Heart failure develops when your heart is too weak to properly pump blood throughout your body. This syndrome is also called congestive heart failure. At Mount Sinai Fuster Heart Hospital, we treat heart failure with medication, devices, and sometimes transplantation.

Why Mount Sinai Fuster Heart Hospital?

At Mount Sinai Fuster Heart Hospital, our cardiologists and cardiac surgeons, specialize in the treatment and management of patients living with mild, moderate, and advanced heart failure.

We develop personalized plans including lifestyle modifications, medications, and, if necessary, surgical intervention including the implantation of left ventricular assist devices and heart transplants. We provide consultation on altering medical, device, and surgical treatment strategies, including medication adjustments; patient education and disease management strategies; case management to optimize patient outcomes and reduce hospitalizations; advanced imaging; evaluation for investigational treatment options; nutritional assessments; exercise programs; and counseling to assist with lifestyle changes.

Our comprehensive, integrated team of cardiologists, cardiac surgeons, researchers, nurse practitioners, nurses, social workers, and clinical care coordinators work together to offer you the full-spectrum of heart failure clinical services. Our specialists have advanced training, years of clinical experience, and access to innovative treatments. In addition, we offer novel therapeutics and devices through a strong clinical trials program, supported by National Institutes of Health and industry funding.

We have experience treating the most complex cases including advanced heart failure, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, multivalvular heart disease and congenital abnormalities. In fact, we were the first health care system in the New York area to use a Total Artificial Heart as a short-term solution for a patient awaiting a heart transplant. Doctors Anelechi Anyanwu, MD, and David H. Adams, MD, led The Mount Sinai Hospital surgical team that performed the procedure.

In addition, Mount Sinai is home to one of the largest left ventricular assist device (LVAD) programs, for advanced heart failure patients. Our cardiothoracic surgeons implant more than 50 LVADs each year to help support the failing hearts of patients as a bridge-to-transplant therapy or a destination therapy for permanent support.

When to Make an Appointment

At Mount Sinai Fuster Heart Hospital, we recommend that anyone who experiences fatigue or shortness of breath with their usual daily activities as a result of heart disease be evaluated for possible heart failure. If you have been admitted to the hospital in the preceding year for treatment of heart failure, we urge you to make an appointment.