Giving the Heart and Lungs Time to Rest and Heal

South Texas Health System Heart offers a range of diagnostic tools to assess and monitor heart conditions. Besides performing a physical exam, a doctor can use various tests to detect and evaluate heart disease.

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is a form of partial cardiopulmonary bypass at the bedside that uses a pump and artificial lung to function as the heart and lungs during the healing process from various injuries.

How It Works

Your doctor may suggest ECMO when typical treatments are not working. The pump channels the patient's blood through an oxygenator, infusing the blood with oxygen and removing carbon dioxide and returning it to the patient.

The heart continues to beat during this process, but its work is made easier because an ECMO machine is what pumps instead. 

Who ECMO Can Help

ECMO candidates include those suffering from:

  • Pneumonia
  • Flu
  • Blood clots in the lungs (pulmonary embolism)
  • Heart failure
  • Trauma

Get a Physician Referral

To get a referral to a physician at South Texas Health System Heart, call the South Texas Health System Reserve and Learn line at 800-879-1033.