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If you need a heart transplant, nothing less than the best will do. As one of the state’s largest heart institutes, Lehigh Valley Heart Institute offers patients with heart failure more treatment options and the region’s largest team of cardiologists with board-certification in advanced heart failure.
Unparalleled collaboration for heart transplantation
When it comes to heart transplants, nothing less than the best will do. That’s why two leaders in heart care, Lehigh Valley Heart Institute and Penn Medicine, have collaborated to offer heart transplant care close to home.
About 90 percent of patients with heart failure who choose Lehigh Valley Heart Institute for their care are able to receive all of their treatment in the Lehigh Valley. Those requiring a heart transplant will be referred to Penn Medicine, whose teams are equipped to treat the most complex cases. Penn Medicine has one of the largest heart transplant programs in the country — performing nearly 1,500 heart transplantations since 1987.
Coordinated care
Lehigh Valley Heart Institute and Penn Medicine work with each other every step of the way, all to benefit you. This allows for a seamless transition from pre-surgery appointments to surgery day and post-surgery follow-up.
Waiting for a match
Lehigh Valley Heart Institute provides treatments for people with complex cases of heart disease that many hospitals turn away. These include mechanical circulatory support devices, such as ventricular assist devices (VADs), which are an effective heart failure treatment. A VAD helps the heart pump blood to the rest of the body.
We offer a “bridge-to-transplant” approach for people who are waiting on a heart transplant list. Through this approach you can receive a circulatory device to provide long-term heart support while awaiting a transplant match. We offer an extensive array of mechanical circulatory support devices, including:
- Left ventricular assist devices (LVAD): This surgically implanted pump helps circulate blood. We were the first in the region to offer the HeartMate 3™, a smaller-sized LVAD that pumps blood more gently.
- Impella®: The world’s smallest heart pump provides short-term support for up to seven days. It’s inserted via a catheter (thin hollow tube) in your femoral artery (main arterial supply in the leg). This device helps people who are experiencing cardiogenic shock, which occurs when your heart suddenly can’t pump enough blood to your organs. Impella also can support a patient’s heart during procedures that otherwise might be too risky.