Our Programs

Heart Failure can make every day a struggle, from taking medications to missing out on the things that give life joy and meaning. This chronic disease develops when the heart can no longer meet the pumping needs of the body. It can be caused by heart attacks, diseases that affect the heart muscles, poorly functioning valves, or genetic problems.

When the heart can no longer pump properly, most of the body’s systems are affected. Patients become short of breath with exertion and even at rest, the legs swell, appetite is poor, and one feels no energy to live life. In its early stages, the symptoms of heart failure can be managed with lifestyle changes and medication. As heart failure advances, treatment options become more complex.

Advanced Heart Failure Program

The Advanced Heart Failure Program at AdventHealth Pepin Heart Institute works with patients to create individualized treatment plans for this debilitating and life-threatening disease. This includes the latest medicine, technology that helps the heart pump better and in a more synchronized way, and surgical interventions.

When you need us most, we’re right here for you with five state-of-the-art cardiac catheterization laboratories helping save lives every day. If you have an irregular heartbeat, there are two electrophysiology labs to diagnose and treat your condition. If you need a stress test, electrocardiography, or echocardiography to diagnose your heart condition, our experts in the noninvasive cardiology lab will explain the tests and next steps with uncommon compassion.

When you’re recovering from a cardiac event or heart-related procedure, you need extra care and support. You need a specialized program of exercise and nutrition to help you recover quickly and stay as healthy as possible. At the Shimberg Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation Center, you’ll work with rehabilitation experts to make sure you’re safe as you progress toward fitness.

Trust your heart to us. Modeled after Christ's example of uncommon compassion, your skilled open-heart, thoracic and vascular team will be by your side at every step — from first learning about your need for surgery though recovery and beyond.

During surgery, you'll get the most advanced care available in one of our state-of-the-art operating suites.

After surgery, you’ll stay in a private recovery room with hands-on care around the clock. AdventHealth Pepin Heart Institute, formerly Florida Hospital Pepin Heart Institute, offers:

• Minimally invasive procedures for heart valve repair and replacement
• Open-heart surgeries for bypass and valve replacement
• Treatment for peripheral artery disease
• Thoracic procedures for lung biopsy

If you or a loved one has heart attack symptoms, every second counts. Get the treatment you need, when you need it. Highly trained doctors and nurses are here for you twenty four hours a day, seven days a week to help with chest pain and other symptoms of heart attack, including:

• A feeling of pressure in your chest
• Pain in your neck, jaw, back, or left arm
• Shortness of breath
• Cold sweat
• Lightheadedness or dizziness
• Nausea or vomiting
• Stomach pain or extreme fatigue, which are more likely in women

If you have symptoms of a heart attack, call 911 immediately. Then tell the emergency team, “Take me to AdventHealth Tampa.”

Does your heart flutter, race, or feel like it skips a beat? Irregular heartbeats are common. Many heart arrhythmias don’t cause problems, but some need treatment. Dedicated experts use the latest techniques to diagnose and treat heart arrhythmias such as atrial fibrillation, also called A-Fib.

If your heart arrhythmia needs treatment, you can schedule a visit with one of our electrophysiologists or surgeons. Your expert will partner with you to find the right surgical or non-surgical treatments to help your heart get back in sync.

We offer a range of arrhythmia treatment options for better cardiac health including pacemakers, the WATCHMAN™ and the updated WATCHMAN FLX™ devices. For more information about our WATCHMAN FLX implantation program, contact our WATCHMAN care coordinator at 813-55-HEART or Call813-554-3278 and press extension 2.

If you have a heart valve that doesn’t work properly, a repair or replacement might be the solution you need. Your team of physicians and technologists can tell you which procedures may be right for your personal circumstances. They’ll explain every detail clearly, so you feel informed and cared for every step of the way. That includes diagnostic imaging and treatments such as the latest minimally invasive, surgical and non-surgical heart health care.

Until just a few years ago, open-heart surgery was the only way to replace valves in severe cases of aortic stenosis. Today, transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) provides a minimally invasive option for treating aortic stenosis and MitraClip provides a minimally invasive option to repair a faulty mitral valve. This means treatment is now available to people who can’t undergo the rigors of open-heart surgery. AdventHealth Pepin Heart Institute’s Heart Valve Center was the first center in Tampa— and one of the first in the nation — selected to perform the TAVR procedure. For more information on our TAVR or Mitral Valve programs, contact our TAVR or Mitral Valve care coordinators at 813-55-HEART or Call813-554-3278 and press extension 1.

If you’ve been told you have blockage to your heart, let us help. Some types of heart disease can improve with minimally invasive procedures to open blocked vessels in the heart and restore blood flow. Interventional cardiologists are specialists who perform life-saving procedures like these. At the Pepin Heart Institute, board-certified cardiologists perform more than 5,000 of these procedures each year. At the forefront of this field, the institute has been among the first centers to use innovative techniques and devices such as the AngioVac procedure, which removes large blood clots without open-heart surgery and the Impella heart pump, which eases the heart’s workload.