Cardiovascular Critical Care

ECMO REFERRALS: 1-833-OHI-ECMO (644-3266)

Oklahoma Heart Institute is proud to have been the first hospital in northeast Oklahoma to offer cardiovascular critical care. Our dedicated team of fellowship-trained intensivists and advanced practice providers offer 24/7 coverage ensuring patient care continually progresses throughout the day. The intensive care unit (ICU) coordinates care and works alongside cardiologists, surgeons and other specialists so patients can receive the consistent, unified care they need to get through the most complicated illnesses and surgeries. The ICU team cares for a broad range of patients including those with heart attacks, heart failure, cardiothoracic and vascular surgeries, structural heart procedures and patients requiring extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) for the most severe forms of heart and lung failure.

Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO)

Oklahoma Heart Institute is the first hospital in northeast Oklahoma to offer extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) to adult patients who are extremely sick due to heart and/or lung failure. “Extracorporeal” means outside of one’s body, “membrane” is a type of artificial lung and “oxygenation” is the process of getting oxygen into the blood. The ECMO machine helps to alleviate the stress on these vital organs in order for them to have a chance to rest and recover until they are able to properly function again.

Placing a patient on ECMO can be done in the operating room, cath lab, at the patient’s bedside or via a mobile unit wherever the patient is located. When connected to an ECMO machine, the blood flows through a tube into an artificial lung for the purpose of removing carbon dioxide and adding oxygen. Then, the blood is warmed to body temperature and pumped back into the body. Depending on the condition of the patient, they may stay on ECMO anywhere from just days to several weeks. During this time, the medical team is able to treat them with a variety of procedures, medicines or give them adequate time to recover.

Mobile ECMO - Due to ECMO’s lifesaving capability it’s important to reach people no matter where they are located. Because of this, Oklahoma Heart Institute has created a mobile ECMO program. They are able to place patients on ECMO much quicker and then transport them back to the Oklahoma Heart Institute hospital to continue this lifesaving therapy. The mobile ECMO program has a multidisciplinary team that includes intensivists, surgeons, nurses and perfusionists.

Ecmo is for: