Kansas City, MO (PRWEB) February 09, 2015

One in five Americans will develop heart failure in their lifetime. It is the number one cause of hospitalization for adults over 65. The cost to treat heart failure is $32 billion and expected to double by 2030. There is no doubt heart failure is a significant health problem. The good news is proper care and treatment can dramatically improve a patients outcome and potentially promising new treatments are on the horizon.

February 8-14, 2015 is National Heart Failure Awareness Week. Saint Lukes Mid America Heart Institute, in Kansas City, Missouri specializes in treating heart failure and other complex cardiovascular conditions and has long been one of the leaders in cardiovascular care not only in the Midwest, but across the country.

Heart failure occurs when the heart is unable to efficiently move blood to the rest of the body either due to thickening or weakness. Onset can come from a variety of causes including heart attack, viral illness, abnormal heart valves, genetic traits and even after pregnancy. Symptoms can be subtle; shortness of breath, fatigue, dizziness, swelling in the legs and or stomach.

The good news is a variety of treatments are available and proper care and treatment can dramatically improve symptoms and quality of life for patients.

Treatments include:

The exciting news for patients is we have promising treatments currently in the research phase of development, said Bethany Austin, M.D., Associate Medical Director of the Advanced Heart Failure Program at Saint Lukes Mid America Heart Institute. These treatments range from clinical trials involving catheter based treatments, treatment of sleep apnea, and gene therapy with stem cells for damaged heart muscles. In addition, there is a new medication which has shown in recent trials to provide significant benefit to heart failure patients compared to standard therapy although it is not yet commercially available. All of these offer new hope to heart failure patients.

Saint Lukes offers a multidisciplinary heart team, including the regions only team of cardiologists board certified in Advanced Heart Failure and Cardiac Transplant, cardiothoracic surgeons, and critical care anesthesiologists.

The Saint Lukes Heart Failure Program also features:

In 2014, The Joint Commission awarded Saint Lukes Hospital Advanced Certification in Heart Failure. Only 53 other hospitals in the United States currently have Advanced Heart Failure Certification. Saint Lukes Hospital also received the Get With The GuidelinesHeart Failure Gold-Plus Quality Achievement Award for implementing specific quality improvement measures outlined by the American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology Foundation secondary prevention guidelines for heart failure patients.

Read more:
Saint Lukes Mid America Heart Institute Offers Tips & Treatments For Heart Failure Awareness Week 2015