Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) The Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) Programs at Inova Heart and Vascular Institute and Inova Children’s Hospital provides life-saving support to adults, children and neonates with severe cardiac or respiratory failure. What is ECMO? ECMO, an advanced form of life support for critically ill patients, is a modified form of cardiopulmonary bypass that temporarily supports the lungs and heart in patients failing conventional treatments.

Heart Attack (Acute Myocardial Infarction) A heart attack, also known as an acute myocardial infarction (acute MI) is a medical emergency that occurs when blood supplied to the heart is blocked, causing heart cells to die and damaging the heart muscle. Heart attacks are often caused by coronary artery disease, a condition in which a waxy substance called plaque builds up inside the coronary arteries, eventually blocking blood flow to the heart. Immediate treatment is crucial during a heart attack, as more heart tissue loses oxygen and dies with each passing minute.

High Blood Pressure/Hypertension High blood pressure, also called hypertension, is a condition where the arteries have an increased resistance against the flow of blood, causing the heart to pump harder to circulate the blood. Usually high blood pressure has no signs or symptoms. However, you can know if your blood pressure is high by having it checked regularly by your healthcare provider. View Video Is My Blood Pressure Normal?

High Cholesterol There's a lot of news about cholesterol these days, and with good reason. High cholesterol can contribute to heart disease, which kills more Americans than all cancers combined. Cholesterol is a waxy, fatlike substance that your body – mainly the liver – produces. Cholesterol is used to make some hormones, vitamin D and bile acids, which help to digest fat. Cholesterol also is used to build healthy cell membranes in the brain, nerves, muscles, skin, liver, intestines and heart. It only takes a small amount of cholesterol to meet all these needs. Your body makes enough.

Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) An implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) is a device that monitors and moderates your heart rate. It uses batteries to send electric signals to a heart that’s beating too slow, similar to a pacemaker. The device can detect irregular heart rhythms (arrhythmias) and deliver a jolt of electricity to return your heartbeat to a normal.

Lymphedema Lymphedema is a common cause of leg and arm swelling due to the collection of too much lymph fluid caused by damage to the delicate vessels that hold the lymph fluid, called lymphatics. Lymph fluid accumulates in the tissues of the arm or leg and causes swelling when the lymphatics system is damaged. Common causes of lymphatic damage include: Surgery or radiation to treat cancer Infection Injury Post-surgery onset Obesity When the lymphedema is due to one of these causes, it is called secondary lymphedema.

Maze Procedure The Maze procedure has revolutionized care for patients who live with atrial fibrillation, also known as AFib, who have significant, frequent AFib symptoms that do not respond to medication or traditional ablation. Maze is a surgical ablation approach that creates a 3-dimensional maze of incisions to form scar tissue that blocks the abnormal electrical patterns responsible for the arrhythmia (AFib).

Mitral Valve Disease (Regurgitation) The mitral valve is located between the left atrium and the left ventricle and controls the flow of blood as it returns from the lungs before being pumped out to the body. It is a one-way valve that opens and closes with each heartbeat. When open, the valve allows blood to pass from the atrium into the ventricle. When closed, it prevents blood from returning to the atrium. A healthy mitral valve maintains blood flow in one direction, from the atrium to the ventricle, and from the ventricle to the rest of the body.

Pacemaker A pacemaker is a small device that prevents the heart from beating too slowly. The device stimulates the heart muscle when the heart rate is too slow or altogether absent. Over time pacemakers have become smaller and more durable. Inova Heart & Vascular Institute was the first facility in Northern Virginia to offer "leadless" pacemakers (i.e., without wires) in addition to traditional pacemakers with at least one wire that goes through the vein to the inside of the heart.

History and Development of Pacemaker Technology By Dr. Marc Wish, Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiologist and cardiovascular disease specialist The evolution of the modern pacemaker is a wonderful story in the advancement of technology and our understanding about how the heart rhythm works. The first pacemaker was implanted in a person in 1958. It didn’t last very long, though that patient lived to age 88 and had 26 pacemakers in his lifetime. Pacemakers entered the modern era in 1969 with the first lithium battery. A man landed on the moon the same year pacemakers had better batteries.