Saint Francis Heart and Vascular Institute offers trusted, advanced heart care for people living with heart failure. If you need heart care in Tulsa, our team can help you feel better and stay active.
Heart failure can be a long-term health problem, but many people can manage it with the right plan, healthy habits, and medicines.
Comprehensive Heart Failure Services
Advanced Diagnostic Testing
- Echocardiography
- Cardiac MRI: Specifically for diagnosis and treatment approaches of:
- Amyloidosis
- Sarcoidosis
- Familial Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy
- Valve Disease
- Right heart catheterization with exercise
- Cardiopulmonary exercise testing
- Genetic testing
- Coronary artery disease imaging and risk assessment
Medication Management
- Expert evaluation and optimization of heart failure medications
- Close monitoring and adjustment of medication regimens as needed
- Education on medication compliance and possible side effects
- Advanced Remote Monitoring: Technology and devices for chronic disease management
- Iron infusion: Available in Tulsa, Muskogee and Vinita
Lifestyle Modification
- Individualized dietary counseling for heart-healthy nutrition
- Exercise plan and guidance for physical activity
- Smoking cessation support
- Sleep study
- Cardiac rehabilitation
Device Therapy
- Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators (ICDs): implants providing protection against life-threatening arrhythmias
- Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy (CRT): improving heart function and coordination
- Cardiac Contractility Modulation (CCM): Optimizing contraction of the heart muscle
- Baroreceptor Stimulating Treatment: implantable device helping the heart pump more efficiently
Heart Replacement Evaluation
- Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD): surgically implanted mechanical pump that helps weakened heart pump blood
- Transplant evaluation and follow-up
Coordinated Care During and After Your Hospital Stay
While you are in the hospital, a nurse specialist helps guide your care and plan for your next steps. Before you go home, we review your medicines, diet, and follow-up visits. Next steps may include:
- Home Health visits, if you qualify
- Cardiac Rehab to help you build strength safely
- Care in a skilled nursing facility, if needed
- Follow-up visits with your primary care doctor and heart doctor
- Help from our pharmacy, nutrition team, and counselors
Award-Winning Heart Failure Care
U.S. News & World Report ranks Saint Francis Hospital as "high performing" in heart failure. A hospital's congestive heart failure score is based on multiple data categories, including patient outcomes, volume, advanced heart programs and more. Over 6,000 hospitals were evaluated, those that earned “high performing” were significantly above the national average.
Ways to Reduce Your Risk of Heart Failure
Heart failure can affect anyone, and sometimes it develops because of factors you cannot control, like age, gender or genetic attributes. Below are lifestyle choices you can make to reduce your risk of heart failure:
- Do not smoke. Tobacco is the number one preventable cause of death.
- Eat a heart-healthy diet including less unhealthy fat, cholesterol and salt and more sources of low-fat protein, whole grains, fruits and vegetables.
- Exercise at least 30 minutes a day (or shorter bursts of ten minutes at a time, three times a day).
- Maintain a desirable body weight.
- Limit stress as much as possible.
- Limit your use of alcohol.
Learn More
Want to learn more about heart failure signs and symptoms, tests, and care options? Our team is here to help. If you are looking for cardiac care in Tulsa, call the Heart Failure Program at Saint Francis at 918-494-8500. For more information on heart failure, you can also read our "Living with Heart Failure" booklet.