In the Advanced Heart Failure, Heart Transplant and Mechanical Circulatory Support Program at Rush, seasoned cardiac surgeons and cardiologists lead a multidisciplinary clinical team that collaborates with you to tailor treatments to your patients' needs. Our program is committed to providing timely and comprehensive consultation reports and updating you on each phase of treatment until your patient's return to your practice.

Our location in Rush's state-of-the-art new hospital — with an interventional platform that brings together most surgical and interventional procedures in a centralized location — ensures optimal convenience and comfort for your patients.

How to refer patients

To refer a patient, please call the referring physician help line at (312) 563-3800.

For seamless emergent transfers of critically ill patients, call the Rush Patient Transfer Center at (312) NOW-RUSH.

When to refer patients

Consider heart failure or transplant evaluation as a second opinion or in the following situations:

• The patient has New York Heart Association class 3 or 4 heart failure despite medical therapy (especially if combined with renal insufficiency or pulmonary hypertension).
• The patient's ventricular tachycardia is not amenable to medication or to interventional therapy.
• The patient's angina is not amenable to percutaneous or surgical revascularization.
• The patient's peak exercise oxygen consumption (PVO2) is less than to 15 milliliters per kilogram per minute (ml/kg/min).
• The patient has had two or more heart failure admissions in a six-month period.
• The patient has a poor psychosocial situation and might benefit from heart failure or transplant resources such as patient education or support from a social worker.
• The patient plans to undergo high-risk coronary artery bypass graft or valve surgery, has a low ejection fraction and may benefit from mechanical circulatory support as a bridge to recovery or transplant.
• The patient's heart failure medications cannot be titrated due to hypotension or other symptoms.
• The patient requires high doses of diuretics, defined as 1.5 milliliters per kilogram (mg/kg) of furosemide or equivalent.
• The patient requires inotrope therapy.
• Standard medical therapy has failed, and the patient is considering experimental drug therapy.
• Standard medical therapy has failed, and the patient is considering a transplant.

Clinical team

Jai Raman, MD, PhD, cardiac surgeon (surgical director)
José Méndez, MD, cardiologist (medical director)
Rajasekhar Malyala, MD, cardiac surgeon
Barbara A. Pisani, DO, cardiologist