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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 test uses a magnetic field to make images of the heart and its nearby tissues. It can assess how the heart muscle and valves are working.
This test makes images of internal tissues, bones, and organs on film. This test shows the size and shape of your heart. Fluid in the lungs will also show up on X-ray.
This test is also called an echo. It uses sound waves to assess the motion of the heart’s chambers and valves. The sound waves make an image on the screen as an ultrasound transducer is passed over the heart. This shows how well the heart pumps and relaxes. It also shows the thickness of the heart walls, and if the heart is enlarged. It can assess heart valve function and blood flow as well. It is one of the most useful tests because it shows a lot of information about the heart’s function. And it can help guide treatment choices.
This test records the electrical activity of the heart. It shows abnormal rhythms. It can sometimes find heart muscle damage.
How we treat heart failure
Treatment for heart failure may include medication, therapy or surgery.
Cardiac rehabilitation is a medically supervised program that helps people with heart failure improve strength, endurance, and quality of life through monitored exercise, education, and support.
In severe cases of heart failure, ECMO may be used to temporarily support heart and lung function while the heart rests and recovers, or while the care team evaluates next treatment steps.
In some cases, medicines can’t help heart failure caused by heart valves that are narrowed (stenosed) or leak (regurgitant). The heart valve can be repaired or replaced. This can be done as an open-heart procedure. Or it can be done by going through a small tube (catheter) that is put into an artery or vein.
When the heart muscle is damaged, dangerous heart circuits can form in the heart muscle. This leads to heart rhythms that can cause death. An ICD is implanted in the body to sense and treat these cardiac arrest rhythms. It does this by overdrive pacing the heart rhythm. Or it sends an energy shock to the heart.
If your heart failure has also damaged your heart’s electrical wiring system, a pacemaker can be implanted. This is done to restore normal heart rate and regularity. A cardiac resynchronizing pacemaker is used when one of the natural heart wires is damaged. This is often the wire located in the left ventricle. These pacemakers use implanted left and right sided wires to restore normal timing of the heart contraction in order to improve heart function.
This device is put in the chest during a surgery. It connects to an outside motor. The motor helps pump blood from the heart to the rest of the body. VADs can allow people with advanced heart failure to improve their overall symptoms and to walk more. This can be used as a long-term treatment. Or it can be used while someone waits for a donor heart for a transplant.
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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