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UI Heart and Vascular Center: Cardiomyopathy Treatment Program
Ultrafiltration in Heart Failure Patients
Heart failure means the heart's pumping ability has weakened and the heart is not able to circulate enough blood to meet the body's demands. This may cause patients with heart failure to experience a build up of fluid in the body. This build up of fluid is most commonly associated with swelling in the the legs, increased difficulty breathing, and/or abdominal bloating. The most common traditional therapy to treat this fluid build up is to use drugs called diuretics or "water pills" which help the body remove this extra fluid by increasing the frequency of urination.
Currently, the University of Iowa Cardiomyopathy Treatment Program is using an alternative therapy to remove excess fluid called the Aquadex Ultrafiltration System. The Aquadex Ultrafiltration System requires the patient with fluid build up to be admitted to the hospital. After admission and assessment by the physican, two indwelling catheters will be placed into the patients veins. One catheter will remove blood from the patient and pass it into a machine that has a special filter. This filter removes and disgards excess fluid from the blood. A second indwelling catheter then returns the fluid free blood back to the patient, thus no blood is lost in the process.
The Aquadex Ultrafiltration System can remove a maximum of 1 liter (1000cc) of fluid every two hours. The length of treatment and rate at which fluid will be removed is determined by the physican. The Aquadex System is a controlled and predictable way to remove excess fluid in heart failure patients with potentially fewer side effects than with diuretic medications. This results in potentially shorter hospital admisions and fewer readmissions for patients.
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From the Heart Pacemaker, Winter 2005-06
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