Heart Failure Clinic

When your heart can't pump enough blood to meet your body's needs, the condition is called heart failure (HF) — though it doesn’t mean that your heart has stopped or is about to stop working.

You may experience shortness of breath, fluid build-up in your feet and legs and general tiredness. This complex condition is most common among patients age 65 or older, but it can affect people at any age.

NorthBay’s Heart Failure Program can help you feel better and experience fewer complications. Thanks to advancements in cardiovascular medicine, heart failure can be managed and potentially reversed in some cases. This is possible when heart failure is diagnosed early, treated successfully and patients make necessary lifestyle changes. These changes can include modifying diet, increasing exercise, reducing alcohol consumption or quitting smoking.

NorthBay’s heart specialists treat heart failure with the latest therapies and surgical procedures performed in state-of-the-art hospitals and facilities with both inpatient and outpatient options. Treatment options may include one or more medications prescribed to treat heart failure. Patients who respond well to one medication may not do as well with others, which is why your cardiologist may recommend a combination or a change, based on your individual results. 

NorthBay offers patients with heart failure leading-edge treatments and access to advanced FDA-approved heart devices. Our teams have extensive experience with monitoring heart failure to new minimally invasive techniques including implantation, transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR).

Close Monitoring Using Digital Technology

The NorthBay Heart and Vascular Center in partnership with Kencor, a medical monitoring company, has developed a monitoring tool that uses digital technology to track and transmit key information, such as weight, blood pressure and heart rate, to specially trained nurses who will help patients manage their condition before they notice symptoms. Participants must meet specific medical criteria. There is no charge for this program. For more information, call 707-646-4400.

Pulmonary Artery Pressure Monitoring For Advanced Heart Failure

Patients with certain types of more advanced heart failure often benefit from regular monitoring of the blood pressure in the pulmonary artery, a large blood vessel that runs between the heart and the lungs. A small monitoring device known as CardioMems is implanted in the pulmonary artery, sends pressure readings to the professional staff at the Heart and Vascular Center. Small changes in pressure can indicate a worsening condition long before a patient notices symptoms; identifying potential problems quickly, allows your cardiologist to adjust your treatment right away. Your cardiologist will work with you to identify the best treatment options to manage your heart failure. 

Cardiac Contractility Modulation Therapy (CCM)

Other specific heart failure conditions may require other advanced therapy options. Cardiac Contractility Modulation Therapy uses a pacemaker-sized device that is implanted in the heart. The small device delivers precise non-excitatory electric pulses that strengthen the heart muscle’s contractions, and it can increase the quality of life in patients with moderate to severe chronic heart failure. Ask your NorthBay heart care team if CCM is a potential course of treatment for your heart failure.