There are many different forms of cardiovascular (heart) disease. The most common cause of cardiovascular disease is narrowing or blockage of the coronary arteries, the blood vessels that supply blood to the heart itself. This is called coronary artery disease and happens slowly over time. Other kinds of heart problems may happen to the valves in the heart, or the heart may not pump well and cause heart failure. Some people are born with cardiovascular disease.
Programs + Services
Our CardioVascular Center provides highly personalized care for a wide range of cardiovascular conditions. Learn how we formulate a treatment for your specific needs.
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Explore the Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM) Center at Tufts Medical Center in Boston which offers a full suite of cardiomyopathy treatment and diagnostic options.
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Research + Clinical Trials
The TAVR UNLOAD trial is an international, multi-center, randomized, open-label, clinical trial comparing the safety and efficacy of Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR) with the SAPIEN 3 Valve and optimized heart failure therapy ( OHFT ) versus OHFT in heart failure (HF) patients, with moderate aortic stenosis ( AS). OHFT is defined as guideline-directed medical therapy. It can be medication only or a combination of medical therapy and approved HF devices.
Clinical efficacy of TAVR is assessed after 1 year of follow-up in all 600 patients. All patients are followed for 2 years to evaluate the value of the study device in to treat patients with Heart Failure (HF) who have moderate aortic stenosis (AS). The Edwards SAPIEN 3 Valve has already been approved by the FDA for use in patients who require an aortic valve replacement due to severe aortic stenosis
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Collecting and storing heart tissue and blood samples from consented Tufts Medical Center patients for the purpose of cardiovascular research.
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Many patients with advanced heart failure describe loss of muscle mass and strength in their arms and legs. This process is known as ‘sarcopenia’ and has not been well studied in heart failure. In particular it is unknown whether the sarcopenia process can reverse after a heart failure patient receives a left ventricular assist device (LVAD, a surgically implanted heart pump). Therefore we are partnering with experts in nutrition and body composition at Tufts University to study changes in muscle mass, physical activity, food intake and metabolism in patients receiving an LVAD. Muscle mass is measured by two methods in the study, to help us determine which is the most accurate in heart failure patients: a dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scan and a non-radioactive isotope dilution technique. There are 3 study visits which each take a maximum of 4 hours, performed around the time of LVAD implant (30 days before to 21 days after), and at 3 months and 6 months after LVAD implantation.
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