A Heart to Heart Chat

No one likes to think about the possibility that their heart might not work properly or would need some help. Imagine being told you need a heart transplant just to survive. Millions of American adults have heart failure leading to more than 8% of all heart disease deaths each year.

"It occurs when the heart doesn't function properly. So what that might mean is that the heart muscle is weak so it can't pump, or the heart can become very stiff and it causes pressures to elevate in the heart."

That's Dr. Barry Clemson, Heart Failure Medical Director at the OSF Healthcare Cardiovascular Institute. And I'm Shelli Dankoff, your host for Health Accelerated, brought to you by OSF Healthcare. We're having a real heart-to-heart discussion on today's episode of Health Accelerated, brought to you by OSF Healthcare. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States for men and women across racial and ethnic groups. Coronary artery disease affects more than 20 million adults over the age of 20 and more than 6 million adults have heart failure, which accounts for about eight and a half percent of all heart disease deaths. Those are just some of the stats to start a conversation with the team from the OSF Healthcare Cardiovascular Institute, which offers a full array of heart care including transplant services, the heart transplant program at OSF Healthcare, St. Francis Medical Center in Peoria is the only one of its kind in central and downstate Illinois. Joining me to discuss heart transplantation and more our Dr. Barry Clemson, Heart Failure Medical Director at the OSF Healthcare Cardiovascular Institute, and Dr. Emmanuel Amulraj, the heart transplant surgical director at OSF St. Francis Medical Center in Peoria.

Learn more: A Heart-to-Heart on Heart Transplants | Health Accelerated - YouTube