When the heart is no longer able to function properly,
a heart transplant may be necessary. Cardiac transplantation has proven
to be a successful procedure for certain patients.

Click to enlarge

Integrated within our nationally recognized Heart and Vascular Institute, Advocate Christ Medical Center's Center for Heart Transplant and Assist Devices gives new hope to critical patients who have exhausted all other options.

Christ Medical Center's transplant team features nationally recognized transplant cardiologist, Dr Geetha Bhat and thoracic surgeon, Dr. Mike Bresticker. Dr. Bhat brings the experience of having managed more than 500 heart transplant patients, while Dr. Bresticker has extensive leadership with ground breaking surgical techniques at one of the busiest organ transplant programs in the country. That and the experience associated with performing more heart surgeries than any medical center in Illinois have earned Christ Medical Center the reputation as a leader in cardiac care.

While waiting for a donor heart, doctors may implant a ventricular assist device (VAD) to help the heart pump blood, reducing the work that the patient's heart has to do until a healthy heart is transplanted. Christ Medical Center's cardiac surgeons have extensive experience with this procedure, as we are one of the top five medical centers nationally for such surgeries.

Our cardiac surgical team, led by Dr. Antone Tatooles, was the first in the United States to implant the HeartMate II® ventricular assist device (VAD) for destination therapy. Christ Medical Center was the first center in Illinois and second nationally to be certified by The Joint Commission as a ventricular assist device (VAD) program for destination therapy. And we were one of the original 69 centers to receive Medicare certification as a VAD program.

Meet the Advocate Christ Medical Center Heart Transplant Team:

Geetha Bhat, Ph.D., M.D., F.A.C.C.	Michael Bresticker, M.D.
Muhyaldeen Dia, M.D., F.A.C.C.	Marc Silver, M.D., F.A.C.C.
Antone Tatooles , M.D.

Learn more about Advocate Christ Medical Center's Heart and Vascular Institute.