Locations
UCSF Heart Transplant
San Francisco, CA
Phone
Practice website
Insurances accepted
Alameda Alliance for Health
Anthem BC Life & Health Insurance Company
Blue Cross of California
Blue Shield of California
CIGNA Health Care
Health Net Of California
Medical Card System Inc
UnitedHealthcare
UCSF Cardiovascular Care Center
San Francisco, CA
About
Bio
Liviu Klein, MD, MS, is the Director of the Mechanical Circulatory Support and Heart Failure Device Programs in the Division of Cardiology at the University of California San Francisco. Dr. Klein is knowledgeable in management of advanced heart failure patients using ultrafiltration, mechanical assist devices (both percutaneous and implantable) and heart transplantation. He actively follows patients with electrical devices such as cardiac resynchronization therapy, defibrillators, pacemakers, and implantable hemodynamic monitoring systems. Dr. Klein's research expertise lies in epidemiology and clinical trial development. He is currently funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health, St. Jude Medical, CVRx, Sunshine Heart. Dr. Klein has published extensively in medical journals on topics of heart failure. He is an Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of California San Francisco.
SpecialtiesDoctors may have more than one area of specialty interest. Board certification in a specialty area means the doctor has completed formal training and has practice experience in that specialty, and has passed the certification examination from the corresponding accredited medical specialty board.
Doctors may have more than one area of specialty interest. Board certification in a specialty area means the doctor has completed formal training and has practice experience in that specialty, and has passed the certification examination from the corresponding accredited medical specialty board.
Cardiology
Cardiac Electrophysiology
Licenses
United States: California
Languages spoken
English, Romanian
Doctor Q&A
231 Answers
172 Agrees
The number of answers this doctor has agreed with.
A 43-year-old member asked:
Dr. Liviu Kleinanswered
Cardiology 24 years experience
Blockages: Stress tests are used to non invasively assess the risk of coronary artery blockages. They are about 85-90% accurate. If the test is abnormal, the nex... Read More
5.7k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 34-year-old member asked:
Dr. Liviu Kleinanswered
Cardiology 24 years experience
Unlikely: Albuterol can increase your atrio-ventricular conduction and make your atrial fibrillation conduct faster to the ventricles, so you could have an over... Read More
5.7k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 50-year-old female asked:
Dr. Liviu Kleinanswered
Cardiology 24 years experience
A bit high: Ideal blood pressure is < 120/75. Blood pressure does fluctuate throughout the day. Recheck every few days in the morning and if still high, you may w... Read More
5.7k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 36-year-old member asked:
Dr. Liviu Kleinanswered
Cardiology 24 years experience
Yes: Having a stent does not preclude use of any electrical devices, including aed.
5.8k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 42-year-old member asked:
Dr. Liviu Kleinanswered
Cardiology 24 years experience
Healthy lifestyle: These are conditions with a bit different risk factors. In general, a healthy lifestyle (eating fruits, vegetables, low salt, low cholesterol, low cal... Read More
5.4k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 30-year-old member asked:
Dr. Liviu Kleinanswered
Cardiology 24 years experience
Few days: It usually takes several days to see a consistent effect on your blood pressure. Most diuretics lower the blood pressure by 6-10 mmhg.
5.7k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 44-year-old member asked:
Dr. Liviu Kleinanswered
Cardiology 24 years experience
Some: Some antibiotics can prolong the qt interval on the ECG and cause ventricular arrhythmia which can be felt as palpitations. Need more information on t... Read More
5.3k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 29-year-old female asked:
Dr. Liviu Kleinanswered
Cardiology 24 years experience
Cardiomyopathy & AF: Long term ventricular pacing can lead to atrial fibrillation (af) or development of left ventricular (lv) systolic dysfunction. One should monitor the... Read More
5.4k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 33-year-old member asked:
Dr. Liviu Kleinanswered
Cardiology 24 years experience
Live longer: Heart transplantation is reserved for end stage heart failure where the quality of life is poor (patients have symptoms with minimal exertion or at re... Read More
6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 24-year-old member asked:
Dr. Liviu Kleinanswered
Cardiology 24 years experience
Phase 1, 2 and 3: Phase 1 occurs in hospital, where patients are introduced to risk factor modification. Phase 2 is outpatient supervised exercise (with telemetry monit... Read More
6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 24-year-old member asked:
Dr. Liviu Kleinanswered
Cardiology 24 years experience
Several: Besides inheriting bad genes, the following 'self inflicted' factors can lead to coronary heart disease: obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, smoki... Read More
6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 34-year-old member asked:
Dr. Liviu Kleinanswered
Cardiology 24 years experience
Doppler effect: The sound it's merely the doppler effect that the technician gets during doppler interrogation of the heart valves. The sound has no correlation with ... Read More
6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 40-year-old member asked:
Dr. Liviu Kleinanswered
Cardiology 24 years experience
Two leaflets : The mitral valve has two leaflets.
6k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 38-year-old member asked:
Dr. Liviu Kleinanswered
Cardiology 24 years experience
It depends: It depends on the ablation type: almost never for wpw, atrial fibrillation/flutter or ventricular tachycardia; 1% or less for avnrt (atrioventricular ... Read More
6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 33-year-old member asked:
Dr. Liviu Kleinanswered
Cardiology 24 years experience
Good: Average survival is 12-13 years, getting better every year with better immunosuppressive medications. Some people have lived past 20 years.
6k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 34-year-old member asked:
Dr. Liviu Kleinanswered
Cardiology 24 years experience
Many differences: A pacemaker is used in the case of slow heart beats or blocked electrical conduction between upper and lower chambers (av block). A defibrillator wil... Read More
6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 38-year-old member asked:
Dr. Liviu Kleinanswered
Cardiology 24 years experience
High is good: Hdl - high density lipoprotein cholesterol - healthy cholesterol. One would want the level to be at least 40 mg/dl in men and at least 50 mg/dl in wom... Read More
6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 33-year-old member asked:
Dr. Liviu Kleinanswered
Cardiology 24 years experience
2-6%: For balloon valvuliplasty of the aortic valve, the risk of stroke us 2-6%, depending on the experience if the physician performing it and the characte... Read More
5.9k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 33-year-old member asked:
Dr. Liviu Kleinanswered
Cardiology 24 years experience
Inflammarion/ fluid: They all mean inflammation and often fluid accumulation in different bodily cavities (abdominal, chest and heart).
6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 32-year-old member asked:
Dr. Liviu Kleinanswered
Cardiology 24 years experience
End stage heart fail: Lvads are used for end stage heart failure either as bridge to transplant or as destination therapy for those who are not candidates for transplantati... Read More
6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 33-year-old member asked:
Dr. Liviu Kleinanswered
Cardiology 24 years experience
Different things: It can detect any congenital (inborn) abnormalities of the heart muscle, valves or blood vessels. It's a mon invasive routine test that a physician wo... Read More
6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 32-year-old member asked:
Dr. Liviu Kleinanswered
Cardiology 24 years experience
Heart failure: There are cardiologists that specialize in advanced heart failure and transplantation - usually affiliated with tertiary medical centers.
6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 43-year-old member asked:
Dr. Liviu Kleinanswered
Cardiology 24 years experience
Left and right: Left main coronary artery which branches into the left anterior descending and left circumflex; and right coronary artery.
6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 33-year-old member asked:
Dr. Liviu Kleinanswered
Cardiology 24 years experience
Uncommon: Femoral artery aneurysm or pseudoaneuyrsm formation at the site of left heart catheterization is very uncommon, less than 1% of cases in the hands of ... Read More
6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 37-year-old member asked:
Dr. Liviu Kleinanswered
Cardiology 24 years experience
Yes: Coronary angiogram is the gold standard for showing the coronary arteries and potential blockages.
6k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 39-year-old male asked:
Dr. Liviu Kleinanswered
Cardiology 24 years experience
Check up: If the pressure is only few seconds at the time, it may not be heart related. However, you do have several risk factors (high cholesterol, higher than... Read More
5.9k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 46-year-old member asked:
Dr. Liviu Kleinanswered
Cardiology 24 years experience
May be nothing: Incomplete right bundle branch block indicates a slight delay in the electrical conduction in the right bundle. It is often found on a routine ECG and... Read More
5.8k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 26-year-old female asked:
Dr. Liviu Kleinanswered
Cardiology 24 years experience
It depends : It depends on the level of the damage - assessed by the GFR (derived from a blood test). Sometimes ace inhibitors or arb can slow down the progression... Read More
5.9k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 46-year-old member asked:
Dr. Liviu Kleinanswered
Cardiology 24 years experience
Symptoms: Symptomatic aortic stenosis or aortic stenosis that has started to affect the heart (enlargement, decrease in ejection fraction) even in the absence o... Read More
5.8k viewsAnswered >2 years agoMerged
A 37-year-old member asked:
Dr. Liviu Kleinanswered
Cardiology 24 years experience
Many: Pulmonary edema manifests as extreme shortness of breath (air hunger), fast breathing, low oxygen level on pulse oximetry, fast heart beat. On clinica... Read More
5.8k viewsReviewed >2 years agoMerged
A 34-year-old member asked:
Dr. Liviu Kleinanswered
Cardiology 24 years experience
Yes: Echocardiogram is a very reliable and safe way to assess presence of a pericardial effusion.
5.9k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 37-year-old member asked:
Dr. Liviu Kleinanswered
Cardiology 24 years experience
Symptom relief: Digoxin can be used as fourth line therapy for symptom control in patients with systolic heart failure (low ejection fraction) or to control the heart... Read More
5.8k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 50-year-old member asked:
Dr. Liviu Kleinanswered
Cardiology 24 years experience
Likely no relation: There is unlikely to be a connection between the two; usually burping is caused by gastro-esophageal reflux. It's possible that you are paying more at... Read More
6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 32-year-old member asked:
Dr. Liviu Kleinanswered
Cardiology 24 years experience
Yes: This is a very high blood pressure and you need to get treated before you have a stroke or a heart attack. See your primary care doctor asap!
6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 38-year-old member asked:
Dr. Liviu Kleinanswered
Cardiology 24 years experience
A little: An implantable loop recorder (ilr) is a 0.5 x 2 CM device (think memory stick type) that goes under your skin in the 3rd rib space on the left side of... Read More
6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 40-year-old member asked:
Dr. Liviu Kleinanswered
Cardiology 24 years experience
It depends: If the patient does not have a pulse, then CPR can be life saving; remember that for layperson CPR we really advocate fast chest compressions (100 per... Read More
6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 25-year-old member asked:
Dr. Liviu Kleinanswered
Cardiology 24 years experience
No: This is an arrhythmia that is caused by an abnormal electrical connection between the top and bottom chambers of the heart. If it causes symptoms (che... Read More
6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 37-year-old female asked:
Dr. Liviu Kleinanswered
Cardiology 24 years experience
About 10 lbs a year: Each fish oil tab needs about 4 grams of wet fish to be made, so for daily use if 3 tabs you need about 10 lbs a year.
6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 55-year-old member asked:
Dr. Liviu Kleinanswered
Cardiology 24 years experience
Treat it: High blood pressure is dubbed 'the silent killer'; untreated leads to stroke, heart attack, heart failure and end stage kidney disease. Stop using any... Read More
6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 36-year-old member asked:
Dr. Liviu Kleinanswered
Cardiology 24 years experience
Stroke prevention: The fast heart rate is probably a consequence of irregular heart beats coming from the top chambers (atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter). These con... Read More
6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 24-year-old member asked:
Dr. Liviu Kleinanswered
Cardiology 24 years experience
No: See your primary care doctor and recheck it a couple of times several weeks apart. If it's truly high, he/she can discuss with you about ways to lower... Read More
6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 33-year-old female asked:
Dr. Liviu Kleinanswered
Cardiology 24 years experience
It depends: It depends on symptoms and frequency of pvcs. If you don't have any symptoms and the total burden of PVC is low (<10%), no treatment is necessary. If ... Read More
6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 51-year-old member asked:
Dr. Liviu Kleinanswered
Cardiology 24 years experience
Various: Besides the fishy aftertaste, they can cause nausea/ vomiting, increased glucose level and bleeding.
6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 39-year-old member asked:
Dr. Liviu Kleinanswered
Cardiology 24 years experience
Unlikely: Unlikely, but be more careful in the future. Never mix medications and alcohol.
6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 38-year-old member asked:
Dr. Liviu Kleinanswered
Cardiology 24 years experience
Possibly: Most heart transplant patients are able to go back to a normal life. There have been transplant recipients that played competitive soccer, climbed mou... Read More
6k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 48-year-old member asked:
Dr. Liviu Kleinanswered
Cardiology 24 years experience
Fluid accumulation: In heart failure, one can retain fluid ('water'), that can accumulate in bodily cavities such as chest - hence developing pleural effusions.
5.8k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 32-year-old member asked:
Dr. Liviu Kleinanswered
Cardiology 24 years experience
Has failed: Cardiogenic pulmonary edema is due to high pressures in the heart as a direct result of heart muscle failing to squeeze properly (systolic failure) or... Read More
5.8k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 33-year-old member asked:
Dr. Liviu Kleinanswered
Cardiology 24 years experience
Unlikely: If you have aortic stenosis, your exercise capacity will be somewhat limited (depending on the degree of stenosis), so it's unlikely you will be able ... Read More
5.8k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 31-year-old member asked:
Dr. Liviu Kleinanswered
Cardiology 24 years experience
Diuretic: A thiazide diuretic such as Chlorthalidone is probably the best first line treatment in uncomplicated hypertension. Your primary medical doctor can pr... Read More
6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 28-year-old member asked:
Dr. Liviu Kleinanswered
Cardiology 24 years experience
Could be many things: There can be many causes, such as low blood pressure or variations in the blood pressure when one changes position from sitting to standing (orthostat... Read More
6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
90,000 U.S. doctors in 147 specialties are here to answer your questions, provide medical advice, write prescriptions, and more.
TestimonialsRecommendations and Thank you notes are endorsements given from patients or other doctors.
Recommendations and Thank you notes are endorsements given from patients or other doctors.
2
Recommendations
449
Thank you notes
HealthTap member
Mar 30, 2015
Dr. Klein is an amazing doctor! #nationaldoctorsday2015 #virtualflower1
HealthTap member
Mar 31, 2015
Dr. Klein is an amazing doctor! #nationaldoctorsday2015 #virtualflower1
HealthTap member
Dear Dr. Klein, Thank you for your time and advice. After reading your advice i have taken a resolve to pay active attention to my health and hopefully work up on these indicators. I did consult my do...Read More
HealthTap member
Thank you for answering my question, but because i have no ins my doc is scouting for someone to help me. This seems to be taking to long in my opinion. I guess thats what happens to us people who are...Read More
HealthTap member
Thank you Dr...It was for svt induced AF... My EP called this morning and confirmed your diagnosis. I know your time is valuable and appreciate how you sacraficed some of it for me.
Education & Training
Medical/Graduate school
University of Medicine and Pharmacy 'Carol Davila', Romania
Graduated 1998MD
Residency
ADVOCATE ILLINOIS MASONIC MEDICAL CENTER
Awards
Associate Professor
Director, MechanicL Circulatory Support and Heart Failure Device Program
HealthTap Scholar
Affiliations
UCSF Division of Cardiology
Publications
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