Heart Failure

You can’t cure heart failure, but you can control it. The Heart Failure Management Program at the CentraCare Heart & Vascular Center can help you and your family manage your heart failure symptoms and improve your quality of life. We aim to reduce your emergency room visits, prevent hospital stays and increase your activity level.

Why choose CentraCare Heart & Vascular Center for heart failure management?

• Experienced staff. Our team of experts specializes in heart failure, including a cardiologist who is board certified in this area. You will be in good company as more than 1,000 patients from throughout Minnesota have chosen to receive care through this program.
• Innovative monitoring. We were the first in the country to use “On Track,” an iPad-based application to assist patients in managing their heart failure. The iPad monitors compliance, symptoms and weight and allows patients to instantly send and receive messages to and from their providers. Another monitoring device, the CardioMEMS HF System, uses a sensor implanted in the pulmonary artery (PA) during a non-surgical procedure to directly measure PA pressure. It can detect and transmit early signs of worsening heart failure to our site, significantly reducing hospital admissions. Read a patient story
• Advanced heart failure solutions. We offer advanced heart failure consultations for patients with end-stage heart failure who need to be considered for a transplant or left ventricular assist device (LVAD).
• Shared Care program. Recognized as one of the most active “Shared Care” sites in the United States, we partner with the University of Minnesota and Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., to provide follow-up care to LVAD patients close to home. Read a patient story
• Other services. Other services include: patient rounding, a transitional care coach, aquapheresis to remove excess fluid and palliative care.
• Research. As a member of the Heart Failure Consortium of Minnesota, we actively take part in research studies with many other hospitals. If you tried standard care without success, our research program gives you access to new drugs and treatments.
• Quality outcomes
  • Recognized in the 2018 U.S. News & World Report as a hospital with high performance in heart failure
  • Earned Gold Plus recognition by the American Heart Association's Get With The Guidelines^®- Heart Failure program, 2018, which was designed to help hospitals consistently follow the most up-to-date, evidence-based guidelines for treating heart failure patients.
  • Designated by Blue Cross and Blue Shield as a Cardiac Center of Distinction, meaning they recognize our heart failure program for its quality of care
  • Received the Innovations in Health Care Award by HealthPartners for success with using iPads to engage heart failure patients
  • Maintained re-admission rates that are, on average, 3.2% below the national average