Placement of a pulmonary artery catheter (PAC), commonly known as a Swan-Ganz catheter, provides hemodynamic data that is vital for clinicians treating patients with acute decompensated heart failure or cardiogenic shock. While routine use has been shown to not be beneficial, there are many instances in which hemodynamic monitoring through the use of a Swan is highly indicated.
Cardiogenic shock represents a dynamic set of conditions, presentation profiles and pathophysiologic mechanisms whose mortality has not changed in more than 20 years. While almost 75 percent is due to predominant left ventricular failure, a quarter is due to something else, such as a rupture or tamponade, right ventricle shock or acute severe mitral regurgitation.
Heart failure and diabetes are closely intertwined. Diabetes affects not only coronary artery blood flow, but also the myocardium. Patients with type 2 diabetes are at risk of heart failure due to intrinsic myocardial disease, resulting in increased myocardial hypertrophy, fibrosis and stiffness. This can also lead to a form of heart failure described in literature as diabetic cardiomyopathy.
Baylor Scott & White Research Institute was recently selected as one of only seven sites in the nation to participate in the landmark feasibility study of the Carmat Total Artificial Heart (TAH) for transplant-eligible patients in severe, end-stage heart failure. It is also the only site to offer the FDA-approved TAH in the region.
An estimated 3 million individuals in the U.S. live with a condition called atrial fibrillation, or AFib, with some estimates projecting that number being closer to 6 million when taking unknown and undiagnosed cases into account.
