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Washington University Heart Failure Center at Missouri Baptist

In January 2019, the Washington University Heart Failure Center at Missouri Baptist opened to provide advanced heart failure care.

A Team Approach

Offering a range of screening services and specialized treatments, the Center at MoBap functions as a stand-alone clinic, seeing ambulatory patients on an outpatient basis. In addition, the Center sees hospitalized patients for observation, diagnosis, treatment and intervention. Specialists and clinicians work together to provide comprehensive care through all the stages of the recovery process. 

"This Center is an extension of the program at Barnes-Jewish Hospital,” said Washington University cardiologist Dr. Gregory Ewald. “The biggest benefactors are the patients who can get high-quality care for a range of heart conditions.”

Heart failure—caused by a weakened heart muscle—can be difficult to treat and frightening to those who have the condition. The term heart failure can apply to a heart muscle that is weak, enlarged, and does not pump effectively. That’s why diagnosis, treatment, and management of heart failure requires the collaboration of a team of health care specialists.

Starting with your primary care physician your care may include: cardiologists, electrophysiologists (cardiologists who specialize in heart rhythm management), cardiac surgeons, and a nurse practitioner who specializes in heart failure. Together this team will develop and individualized plan to help you to manage your condition.

Daily tips to manage your condition

• Weigh yourself daily
• Monitor your blood pressure daily
• Limit your intake of salt
• Exercise at levels recommended by your physician
• Take your medications exactly as prescribed
• Maintain frequent visits with your physician
• Ask questions and make sure you fully understand all information
• If you smoke, please stop. Smoking makes the symptoms of CHF much worse.

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Minimally Invasive Heart Surgery Helps Tom Return to the Basketball Court

Tom Caspari thought he was too healthy to have a heart attack.

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Are you at risk for a heart attack? Learn about your risk factors with our online heart health assessment tool and find help for improving your results.

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Heart Matters: Father-Son Heart Surgery Strengthens Bond

When the need for surgery arose, this close-knit family made the decision to travel to St. Louis for a second opinion and care at Missouri Baptist Medical Center (MoBap). However, Matt and Bill never expected to be in the hospital at the same time, much less have heart surgery on the same day.

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Todd Stewart, MD, is no stranger to critically ill patients and life-saving procedures. As a spinal neurosurgeon and chief of neurosurgery at Missouri Baptist Medical Center, it’s all in a day’s work. But it came as a shock when he suffered a life-threatening heart attack last year.

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On December 6, 2022, Missouri Baptist Medical Center performed its 1,000th transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR).

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TAVR is a minimally invasive procedure for replacing a stenotic (tight) aortic valve in which the aortic valve narrows, reducing blood flow from the heart to the aorta. This procedure can also replace failed artificial aortic and mitral valves. TAVR is a treatment option to be considered for those with severe aortic stenosis, including many with worn-out surgical valves.

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Cardiac surgeons at MoBap talk about valve disease and new treatment methods, including minimally invasive surgery.

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Lynn’s husband Steve was diabetic and diagnosed with end stage renal disease 11 years ago. Without warning, Steve’s condition turned critical three years ago. Desperate for guidance and strength, Lynn was connected to April and the Palliative Care team at Missouri Baptist Medical Center.

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At Missouri Baptist Medical Center cardiac surgeons have treated atrial fibrillation surgically since 2001.

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Repairing a Broken Heart: A New Diagnosis Helps Heart Pump at Peak Efficiency

Although she had lived with a heart condition her entire life, Tina Lybarger Ledyard knew a few months ago that something just wasn’t right. As a nurse and a stroke network consultant, Tina noticed she was feeling more fatigued than usual. Read more here about her diagnosis and how she has renewed energy after heart surgery.

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Arrhythmia Center

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Heart LifeLine Alliance

As a leader in heart care, Missouri Baptist Medical Center’s cardiac specialists partner with rural hospitals and medical helicopter and ambulance services to offer the region’s leading heart attack network, saving heart muscle and lives.

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Nathaniel (Nate) Rentz, 63, is alive today thanks to the expertise and coordinated care of medical teams at Progress West Hospital and the advanced cardiac care team at Missouri Baptist Medical Center.

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Tracy Pick and her mom, Betty Mesplay, are no strangers to heart procedures. But this time the mother-daughter duo would be going through recovery together.

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Melissa Ham’s voice is still a little shaky when she recalls being told that her husband, Chris, had about a 1-in-3 chance of surviving the heart attack that occurred at their home on July 13, 2016.

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