Institute for Congestive Heart Failure to Open in Phoenix

A medical center dedicated to congestive heart failure is opening up next week for Phoenix-area residents.

On September 21st, the Institute for Congestive Heart Failure will open at Abrazo Heart Hospital. The institute will be found near 18th Street and Thomas Road in Phoenix.

This branch of the hospital will cover everything relating congestive heart failure that a patient could ask for. Care coming from the institute will include mini-dialysis machines, tiny heart monitors, pacemakers, and other such devices covering everything from prevention and early detection to treatment options of different varieties.


This center will be the sixth of its kind established by Abrazo to address specialty cardiac and vascular conditions.

Dr. Kris Vijay stated that the goal was keep heart-failure patients from returning to the hospital repeatedly for treatment. He noted that the readmission rate with congestive heart failure is high. “One in three are getting hospitalized very quickly, twenty percent, on average.”

Nearly 6 million Americans live with heart failure. Contrary to popular belief, heart failure does not refer only to hearts that have ceased but also to hearts that are so weakened that they do not pump enough blood around the body. The American Heart Association notes that the condition the buildup of fluids in various parts of the body are truly the hallmark of the condition.

There are many failures that can contribute to heart failure such as coronary heart disease, obesity, high cholesterol, diabetes, smoking, and hypertension. Additionally, cancer and some treatments that go along with cancer can lead to congestive heart failure.

The Center for Disease Control says that more than 600,000 Americans die of heart disease each year. This accounts for one in every four American deaths and makes heart disease the #1 killer of both men and women in the United States.