New Jersey's Premier Heart Transplant Program

The Barnabas Health Heart Failure and Transplant program is the most experienced and comprehensive center in New Jersey. It has been at the forefront of highly specialized care for more than twenty years. Our cardiac surgeons and heart specialists' expertise has made RWJBarnabas Health a regional and national training center for physicians, nurses and emergency services technicians.

Dr. Joseph Clemente, host of MHC-TV, interviews Mark J. Zucker, M.D., J.D., Director, Heart Failure Treatment and Transplant Program at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center. They discuss getting a heart transplant, other treatments such as the Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD), and about stem cell research ongoing today.

Learn about CardioMEMS, a new treatment for heart failure

Barnabas Health Heart Centers Earn Recognition from American Heart Association in Heart Failure Treatment

The Barnabas Health Heart Centers provide progressive heart failure management that optimizes the patient's transition to home and empowers them to improve their heart health. Advanced practice nurses contact patients within days of discharge and facilitate daily medical monitoring, education, and counseling. Patient-centered programs bring together all the medical resources necessary to combat heart failure and the reduction in hospital readmission rates has been significant. Heart failure clinics are based at all Barnabas Health hospitals.

Clinical trials provide patients with access for breakthrough medications, devices, and therapies, while being continually monitored and evaluated. Our participation in new cardiac stem cell research for patients with refractory angina and chronic myocardial ischemia may someday help the heart heal itself. Improved technology has made positive outcomes with ECMO more likely both at our center and nationally, and has resulted in increased referrals for this critical care.

The Newark Beth Israel Medical Center heart transplant program is one of the top ten heart transplant centers in the United States with survival rates that consistently meet or exceed national benchmarks. The center is at the forefront of improving the quality of life for transplant candidates and recipients, as well as increasing access to transplant. Our unique work in establishing successful protocols for discontinuing steroid medications for immunosuppression is improving the medical management and survival rates for transplant recipients worldwide. Noninvasive gene expression testing offers an alternative technique for assessing immunosuppression and predicting rejection. The center is also part of groundbreaking research that is exploring innovating methods for preserving donor organs for transplant.

Implantable VADs are placed for myocardial recovery, bridge to transplant, and destination therapy. Because the VAD program is totally integrated with heart failure and transplant services, patients are thoroughly and continually evaluated for all treatment options. The heart transplant center's experience has made it a principal site for clinical research trials of the latest generation of mechanical assist devices and a regional VAD transplantation training site. With virtually all FDA-approved and investigational implantable devices available, patients receive the device that meets their individual needs.

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Heart Failure and Transplant Program New Jersey