Baylor Scott & White Health played a leading role at the 43rd Annual Meeting & Scientific Sessions of The International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT), held April 19-22, 2023, in Denver, Colorado. More than 3,600 members from around the world gathered to exchange ideas and collaborate on the latest science.
To provide advanced heart failure treatment to patients in north Louisiana, Baylor Scott & White Health has established an outreach clinic in Shreveport. Since October 2022, Amarinder Bindra, MD, an advanced heart failure and transplant cardiologist on the medical staff at Baylor University Medical Center (Baylor Dallas), part of Baylor Scott & White Health, sees six to eight new patients at each weekly visit.
Management of patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction consists of a combination of older, tried-and-true medications and recently developed, novel pharmacological therapies. Known as the “four pillars” of heart failure therapy, these medications are beta blockers, angiotensin receptor-neprilysin inhibitors (ARNIs), mineralcorticoid receptor antagonists (MRAs) and sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 Inhibitors (SGLT2i). The latest clinical evidence shows patients with heart failure should be put on these drugs all at once.
Guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT) for patients with heart failure consists of rapid initiation of beta blockers, angiotensin receptor-neprilysin inhibitors (ARNIs), mineralcorticoid receptor antagonists (MRAs) and sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 Inhibitors (SGLT2i). However, a gap occurs when patients are put on these medications but still have symptomatic heart failure. A new set of support devices approved by the FDA in the last three years is helping to bridge this gap in GDMT.
The extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) program at Baylor Scott & White All Saints Medical Center – Fort Worth celebrated survivorship with joy, hope and fellowship at the ECMO Reunion on January 6. The event brought together ECMO patients and families from all over Texas to reunite with the physicians and staff members who made recovery possible.
