Advanced Heart Failure, Heart Transplantation, and Left-Ventricular Assist Device Program

The Center for Advanced Heart Failure (CAHF) at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center is based on the heart team concept, with advanced heart failure cardiologists, cardiothoracic surgeons, and pulmonologists practicing under one umbrella, tailoring treatment to the needs of the patient to produce the best possible outcomes. Our multidisciplinary teams include cardiologists, interventional cardiologists, cardiothoracic surgeons, cardiac electrophysiologists, advanced practice providers, pulmonary critical care internists, dietitians, social workers, pharmacists, left-ventricular assist device (LVAD) and transplant coordinators, physical therapists, and a supportive care team that coordinate comprehensive heart failure management.

The CAHF receives critically ill patients in cardiogenic shock from community hospitals in a spoke-hub distribution paradigm, organizing transfers in a series of spokes that connect outlying hospitals to the CAHF, our central hub, for urgent evaluations for heart transplant and durable mechanical circulatory support devices – LVADs. We facilitate rapid transfers through Memorial Hermann Life Flight®, the only hospital-based air ambulance service in Houston and its surrounding communities.