Below are two novel thoracic aorta trials being conducted at Baylor Scott & White – The Heart Hospital Plano. These trials leverage our multi-disciplinary team approach, which brings Cardiothoracic and Vascular surgeons together in our TAA clinic for collaborative, simultaneous visits with each patient. This approach has proven time and again to better inform decisions surrounding patient care plans and help produce stronger outcomes.
Traditionally, one of the clinical hallmarks characterizing heart failure has been a low ejection fraction (EF) of the left ventricle. EF is the percent of blood pushed out by the heart with each heartbeat. But there is a growing awareness of a significant portion of the heart failure population who do not display low EF— a condition known as heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF).
As with most medical progress, the rapid advancement in treatment modalities for various forms of cardiovascular disease has been made possible in part by a better understanding of disease pathology.
As advances in heart failure treatment continue, Baylor University Medical Center remains at the forefront and is still one of the largest programs in Texas. In 2018, surgeons on the medical staff performed 54 heart transplants and implanted a record 78 LVADs (left ventricular assist device). Dan M. Meyer, MD, recently appointed surgical chief of heart transplant and mechanical circulatory support at Baylor Dallas, implanted the first LVAD at Baylor in 1996, and recently implanted the 500th LVAD, making BUMC the first hospital in North Texas to reach this milestone.
Baylor Scott & White Medical Centers in Temple and Round Rock have opened enrollment on a study examining the safety and efficacy of Etripamil Nasal Spray in terminating paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia (PSVT). These locations represent two of just four sites across the entire state of Texas that were awarded the trial.
