The Duke Heart Failure and Transplant Program specializes in multidisciplinary treatment of patients with heart failure. Nine full-time faculty cardiologists with specialized training in heart failure provide outpatient and inpatient care to patients across the spectrum of heart failure, including minimally symptomatic patients, those with advanced disease, and heart transplant recipients.

 

The multidisciplinary team also includes:

 

• Nurse practitioners who specialize in heart failure
• Registered nurses who provide patient education and follow-up

• Clinical pharmacists

• Physical therapists

• Exercise physiologists

• Nutritionists

• Social workers

 

This team provides a personalized care plan for each patient, including the use of advanced medical, surgical, and device therapies as well as education regarding lifestyle, exercise, and diet.

 

All of our services are based on current national guidelines and the results of the latest clinical trials. In addition to routine care, patients have access to cutting-edge experimental therapies, including new drugs, devices, and surgical procedures.

 

Patients with late-stage heart disease that cannot be controlled with medical treatment alone may be referred for advanced therapies such as heart transplantation or mechanical cardiac support. The Duke Heart Transplant Program is one of the largest in the United States, with clinical outcomes that exceed national averages.

 

The Duke Heart Failure Program also has one of the largest experiences nationally with ventricular assist devices (VADs) to provide mechanical support for patients with advanced heart failure, having implanted over 100 such devices in patients both as a bridge to heart transplant and as destination therapy.

 

Christopher M. O'Connor, MD Director