CLOSE

Welcome to the Cardiac Fitness Center of St. Francis Hospital, The Heart Center - the only hospital-based program of its kind on Long Island.


The center is located on the park-like grounds of The DeMatteis Center for Cardiac Research and Education in Greenvale.


Located just off Northern Boulevard, its serene setting offers plenty of convenient and accessible parking.


Our popular fitness center enjoys more than 60,000 visits a year and recently celebrated its 30th anniversary.


Visitors are greeted by our friendly staff to make sure every exercise session feels like a welcome visit.


All of our cardiac fitness programs are medically supervised by a doctor, registered nurses and other healthcare professionals, who are always on site.


Our award-winning center is equipped with state-of-the-art exercise equipment.


The workout circuit includes bicycles, treadmills, weight lifting stations and an indoor walking track.


All patients are prescreened for an appropriate fitness plan to ensure all of their cardiac needs are met.


Everyone is continually monitored for their progress by our highly dedicated staff.


For more information on how you can step up to better health and how we can help, call (516) 629-2040.

CLOSE

Pacemaker Device to Treat Heart Failure

February 4, 2003 (Roslyn, NY) - Heart failure affects 5 million people in the United States. St. Francis Hospital is utilizing an innovative pacemakerlike device as a new treatment tool for fighting the symptoms of advanced congestive heart failure. Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy (CRT) treats heart failure patients who have ventricular dysynchrony, a condition where the two lower chambers of the heart (the left and right ventricles) are not beating together. The device offers new hope for heart failure which is often caused or exacerbated by this condition

Over time, a hearts inability to beat in synchrony may cause heart failure symptoms to worsen. Approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the resynchronization device restores heart function by delivering small electrical impulses to the lower chambers of the heart to stimulate them to beat at the same time. A standard pacemaker has only two wire leads that connect to the right side of the heart delivering electrical impulses to stimulate the heart to contract. The new device has a third lead that connects to the left ventricle, the heart’s main pumping chamber and to help the two sides of the heart beat together again and improve the heart’s efficiency to increase blood flow to the body.

This device is about the size of a pager and is implanted under the skin of the chest and connected to three leads that are inserted through veins into the heart. Benefits to patients may include reducing symptoms and preventing the progression of the heart failure.

"Cardiac resynchronization therapy, in combination with medical therapy can improve a patient’s quality of life and allow them to exercise and perform other physical activities that they were unable to do before," said Justine Lachmann, M.D., Director of the Congestive Heart Failure Program at St. Francis Hospital.

Current candidates for this procedure are congestive heart failure patients with significant limitations in activity that affects their quality of life and medical therapy hasn’t worked. Symptoms include reduced exercise tolerance, markedly decreased energy at rest, and frequent hospitalizations. Treatment will also depend on the underlying cause of the heart failure.

The St. Francis Hospital Congestive Heart Failure Program offers a multi-disciplinary team approach to this disease which afflicts an estimated 4.9 million people in the U.S. A nurse practitioner, rehabilitation therapist and clinical dietitian work closely with patients to provide nutritional counseling, exercise programs and support groups to not only stabilize patients but offer them the best quality of life possible. CHF can be caused by a number of factors such as coronary artery disease, heart muscle disease, valve abnormalities, high blood pressure, arrhythmias, even anemia or thyroid problems. For more information, call 516-629-2090.