Heart failure treatments

Also known as mechanical heart pumps, these implantable devices help weakened hearts pump blood when medications are not enough. Your doctor may recommend a VAD to use as a:

• Bridge-to-transplant: The VAD temporarily supports your heart while you wait for a heart transplant.
• Destination therapy: You may have a VAD for the long term instead of getting a heart transplant.

At our dedicated VAD clinic, you’re able to meet with heart failure specialists and cardiac surgeons during the same appointment. When possible, we schedule tests the same day, too. We also offer:

• The latest VADs, including those still in clinical trial stage
• Personalized care and education about living with a VAD from our expert VAD coordinators

Diseased heart valves can make the heart work harder, leading to heart failure. Our doctors are nationally known for their expertise in treating heart valve disease using transcatheter methods. With this approach, your doctor performs the procedure through an artery or vein. Because the chest is not opened for surgery, you recover quicker and have less pain. Learn more about heart valve repair and replacement. 

Coronary artery disease narrows the blood vessels that carry blood to the heart. Narrowed arteries slow blood flow, leading to heart failure, heart attacks and strokes.

CABG, also known as heart bypass surgery, improves blood flow. During surgery, your doctor uses a healthy artery to reroute blood flow around a diseased artery. At UC Davis, you are in skilled hands: U.S. News ranks our CABG program as high performing.

We specialize in robotic-assisted CABG. Because we don’t open the chest, you recover faster with less pain, blood loss and scarring. During the procedure, your doctor:

1. Refers to a 3D computer image to precisely visualize the procedure
2. Makes a keyhole-sized incision in the chest
3. Uses a computer to guide a robotic device that has tiny surgical instruments
4. Performs surgery through the keyhole incision using the robotic device

A heart condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy causes heart muscle to thicken and restrict blood flow. Left untreated, heart failure occurs. Our doctors are the only ones in the Sacramento region offering alcohol septal ablation to treat this condition.

This nonsurgical procedure uses injectable, purified alcohol to shrink enlarged heart tissue. This procedure is less invasive than the standard approach, which involves surgically removing thickened heart muscle.

If heart failure is severe and life-threatening, your doctor may recommend a heart transplant. During this procedure, you receive a healthy heart from a donor.

This short-term life-support system does the work of your heart and lungs by circulating blood and oxygen. Your heart and lungs can heal until you are strong enough for a heart support device or heart transplant.

This short-term life-support device is used to support weak hearts in patients that present a critical condition or require high risk interventions.

Our heart failure specialists are highly involved in clinical trials to try new procedures, devices and treatments. This involvement provides you with an opportunity to try promising new therapies. Learn more about cardiovascular clinical trials.