AHMANSON-UCLA
Cardiomyopathy Center
The multidisciplinary
Ahmanson-UCLA Cardiomyopathy Center provides comprehensive diagnostic and
therapeutic services to patients with heart failure and/or cardiomyopathy
(diseases of the heart muscle). Patients range from those with risk
factors for heart failure or silent ventricular enlargement or dysfunction
to those with advanced heart failure requiring evaluation for heart
transplanation.
Since the
Ahmanson-UCLA Cardiomyopathy Center opened in 1984 along with the UCLA
Cardiac Transplant Program, the Center’s physicians have developed new
principles for the design of medical therapy for heart failure patients
based on the recognition that heart failure is not one disease but a
unique combination of disorders in each patient. Through this work, the
staff of the Center have become internationally recognized for their
contribution to the understanding of heart failure and the advancement of
therapy to improve function and prolong life for patients with these
problems.
For patients with
major symptoms of heart failure, a special program of comprehensive heart
failure disease management is designed to optimize heart function for each
individual based on response to different medications. Many of the most
severely ill patients treated at the Center, those who have previously
failed all attempts at therapy and been unable to be discharged from the
hospital, have been able to go home and begin a regular exercise program
after undergoing therapy at UCLA. Among patients with heart failure
symptoms at the time of referral, almost all report better quality of life
after receiving new therapy and education about how to participate
actively in their own care.
From our extensive
experience, we have learned the value of instituting optimal therapy with
systematic non-invasive re-evaluation not only for advanced disease, but
also for the patients with early cardiomyopathy or risk factors for heart
failure. With a coordinated program of specialized attention, many of
those patients can avoid the progression to heart failure and thus not
require transplantation.
The Ahmanson-UCLA Cardiomyopathy
Center offers a full range of treatment alternatives, including cardiac
transplantation, bridging mechanical assist devices, and cardiac
resynchronization therapy in addition to comprehensive heart failure
disease management and risk assessment. The Center includes the outpatient
Heart Failure Clinic, the inpatient Advanced Cardiac Evaluation (ACE)
Unit, the Exercise Laboratory, the
UCLA Cardiac Arrhythmia Center, and the
Cardiac Transplantation Clinic. The Center also is closely affiliated with
the
UCLA Cardiothoracic Surgery Service.
Heart Failure
Heart failure affects nearly 5
million Americans and as more patients are surviving myocardial infarction
but being left with reduced ventricular function, heart failure is the
only major cardiovascular disease still increasing in incidence. An
estimated 400,000 to 700,000 new cases of heart failure are diagnosed each
year and the number of deaths in the US from this condition has more than
doubled since 1979, averaging 250,000 annually. In comparison the death
rate from coronary heart disease has dropped by 49% over a similar time
period. An estimated 8-15 billion dollars is spent each year on the costs
of hospitalization, which is twice the amount spent on all forms of cancer
combined.
The Ahmanson-UCLA Cardiomyopathy
Center has lead efforts in identifying new therapies and approaches to
manage heart failure over the last 2 decades. Recent scientific research
and clinical trials have identified medical therapies, devices, and
disease management strategies that can offer patients markedly improved
quality of life, reduced risk of hospitalization, and improve survival.
