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Heart failure
Doctors at Ascension Illinois in Chicagoland deliver advanced care for heart failure.
Heart failure care in Chicagoland
Doctors at Ascension Illinois in Chicagoland deliver advanced care for heart failure.
Why choose us
When you choose Ascension Illinois for your heart failure care, you get cardiologists and surgeons trained in the latest heart care testing, treatment and procedures. As part of a national team, your doctors share best practices and research, delivering advanced heart care close to home.
Understanding heart failure
The heart is a muscle that pumps oxygen-rich blood to all parts of the body. When you have heart failure, the heart can’t pump as well as it should. Or the heart muscle can’t relax and fill the pumping chamber with blood. Blood and fluid may back up into the lungs. This causes heart failure. Some parts of the body also don’t get enough oxygen-rich blood. This means they can't work well. These problems lead to the symptoms of heart failure.
Symptoms of heart failure
Common symptoms heart failure include:
- Cough that doesn’t go away. It can cause blood-tinged or frothy sputum.
- Severe tiredness (fatigue) and weakness
- Loss of appetite, nausea, and belly pain
- Shortness of breath while resting, exercising, or lying flat
- Weight gain from water retention
- Visible swelling of the legs, ankles, feet and belly from fluid buildup
How we diagnose heart failure
Your doctor connects the dots for your care — including connecting you to heart screenings and the right cardiovascular specialists. To diagnose heart failure, your doctor may recommend testing, such as:
B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) is a hormone released from the ventricles that occurs with heart failure. BNP levels are useful in the quick assessment of heart failure. The higher the BNP levels, the worse the heart failure. BNP is measured from a blood sample.
This procedure uses a combination of large magnets, radio waves, and a computer to make detailed images of organs and structures in your body. Your doctor may order an MRI of the heart to look at the heart valves and major vessels. It can also detect coronary artery disease and how much damage it has caused. It can also assess heart problems that have been present since birth. It can find tumors and other conditions. Your doctor may order this test before other procedures such as angioplasty or stenting of the coronary arteries and heart or vascular surgery.
A chest X-ray is a quick, noninvasive imaging test that provides a detailed picture of the inside of your chest, helping your care team detect signs of a heart condition.
It's used to check the heart's function and structures. During the procedure, a transducer (like a microphone) sends out sound waves at a frequency too high to be heard. When the transducer is placed on the chest at certain locations and angles, the sound waves move through the skin and other body tissues to the heart tissues. The waves bounce or "echo" off the heart structures. These sound waves are sent to a computer that can create moving images on the screen of the heart walls and valves.
Our cardiology team uses advanced diagnostic tools and expertise to accurately identify a wide range of cardiac issues, ensuring you receive the right care as early as possible.
Our cardiology team uses advanced diagnostic tools and expertise to accurately identify a wide range of cardiac issues, ensuring you receive the right care as early as possible.
How we treat heart failure
Treatment for heart failure may include medication, therapy or surgery.
Cardiac rehabilitation is a medically supervised program to help people who have heart disease. It's designed to improve heart recovery and your ability to function, and prepare you for future daily activities. It may be recommended if you have had a heart attack or heart surgery. Cardiac rehab can often help you get better at your daily tasks. It may ease your symptoms and give you a sense of well-being.
When you're facing heart or lung failure, your care team will use ECMO when other treatments are no longer working. ECMO supports organ function by giving your heart and lungs time to rest and recover. The ECMO pump circulates your blood, acting as a heart pump through the machine's artificial lung.
A defibrillator wire is inserted into the heart and connected to an implanted device in the chest. It can send out electricity to either pace or shock the heart back into normal rhythm. This can be lifesaving when life-threatening rhythms are found.
Your cardiologist might recommend a pacemaker if you have irregular heartbeats, a slow heart rate or are experiencing heart block. A pacemaker helps keep your heart regulated by sending electric signals to your heart if it senses trouble. The device is implanted under the skin and helps improve symptoms such as fatigue, dizziness and fainting.
Cardiac surgeons treat complex heart valve disease to repair damaged heart valves through open heart surgery and minimally invasive procedures, including TAVR and MitraClip™. When one or both of your valves do not open or close correctly, it can lead to reduced blood flow, cause the heart to work harder, and result in symptoms such as fatigue, shortness of breath, chest pain, fainting, or even heart failure.
A VAD also known as a heart pump is a mechanical device used to help the pumping function for one or both of the heart's pumping chambers (ventricles). It may be needed when heart failure gets to the point that medicines and other treatments no longer work. A VAD can help someone's heart work when they are waiting for a heart transplant. Or when someone is waiting to see if they are a candidate for a transplant. A VAD can also be a permanent treatment. And it can help a person's heart recover after surgery.
How to get care
To make an appointment, a referral should be made by your primary care doctor or another specialist. Once the referral is received and reviewed, you will be contacted to schedule an appointment with a cardiologist.
Get a second opinion from a heart specialist
Decisions about your heart care are important. Getting a second opinion not only provides more information about your condition, but it can help you feel more confident in the doctor and the care plan you choose. Consider getting a second opinion if:
- Your diagnosis or prognosis is unclear
- You’ve been told you have a rare or life-threatening condition
- You would like to explore other treatment options
- Your treatment options are costly or risky
- You want to hear an opinion from another specialist
- Your insurance requires a second opinion
If you are experiencing a life-threatening emergency, go directly to the ER or call 911.
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