The Left Ventricular Assist Device
Congestive heart failure is defined as a disease that develops when the heart is unable to pump enough blood through the body to sustain life. It is estimated that there are currently over five million people in the United States suffering from heart failure (Trivedi, Cheng, Singh, Williams, & Slaughter, 2014). For a patient with heart failure, the best hope of survival is a heart transplant (Dumitru, 2015). Unfortunately, heart transplants are not always available when needed. A person in congestive heart failure can expect to wait four to six months for a donor heart (Trivedi et al., 2014). In many cases, mechanical support in the form of a ventricular assist device may be necessary to keep the patient …show more content…
If the patient meets the criteria for a heart transplant, and is not expected to survive a prolonged waiting period, a LVAD would be indicated. The categories for LVAD implant candidates are: a bridge to recovery, a bridge to transplant, and destination therapy. (Dumitru, 2015). With a bridge to recovery, a patient in heart failure would use the LVAD on a temporary basis such as while recovering from heart surgery. As a bridge to transplant, the LVAD can not only give the patient the extra time needed while waiting for a donor heart, it can also help the other vital organs to improve function by providing them with an adequate blood supply. This in turn helps the patient to become a better candidate for surgery. A patient who has other problems, such as cancer, that would make him or her ineligible for a donor heart, can have an improved quality of life with a destination therapy LVAD (Trivedi et al., 2014). .
A ventricular assist device cannot be placed if there is aortic insufficiency, mitral stenosis, impaired filling of the left ventricle, or intra-cardiac shunting (Wilson, Mudge, Stewart, & Givertz 2010). However, it is possible to correct these conditions during implantation surgery. A patient may be too small to accommodate the devices if he or she has a body surface area of less than …show more content…
When heart failure continues to progress despite medical therapy, the next step is a heart transplant (Trivedi, 2014). Unfortunately, in most cases it takes a long time to receive the donor heart and many patients do not survive the wait. A patient in end-stage heart failure can have a chance for a good quality life while waiting for a donor heart with a ventricular assist device (Trivedi, 2014). These devices work very well at maintaining sufficient cardiovascular circulation for several years, and are now more commonly being used as permanent therapy (Dumitru,
Congestive heart failure is defined as a disease that develops when the heart is unable to pump enough blood through the body to sustain life. It is estimated that there are currently over five million people in the United States suffering from heart failure (Trivedi, Cheng, Singh, Williams, & Slaughter, 2014). For a patient with heart failure, the best hope of survival is a heart transplant (Dumitru, 2015). Unfortunately, heart transplants are not always available when needed. A person in congestive heart failure can expect to wait four to six months for a donor heart (Trivedi et al., 2014). In many cases, mechanical support in the form of a ventricular assist device may be necessary to keep the patient …show more content…
If the patient meets the criteria for a heart transplant, and is not expected to survive a prolonged waiting period, a LVAD would be indicated. The categories for LVAD implant candidates are: a bridge to recovery, a bridge to transplant, and destination therapy. (Dumitru, 2015). With a bridge to recovery, a patient in heart failure would use the LVAD on a temporary basis such as while recovering from heart surgery. As a bridge to transplant, the LVAD can not only give the patient the extra time needed while waiting for a donor heart, it can also help the other vital organs to improve function by providing them with an adequate blood supply. This in turn helps the patient to become a better candidate for surgery. A patient who has other problems, such as cancer, that would make him or her ineligible for a donor heart, can have an improved quality of life with a destination therapy LVAD (Trivedi et al., 2014). .
A ventricular assist device cannot be placed if there is aortic insufficiency, mitral stenosis, impaired filling of the left ventricle, or intra-cardiac shunting (Wilson, Mudge, Stewart, & Givertz 2010). However, it is possible to correct these conditions during implantation surgery. A patient may be too small to accommodate the devices if he or she has a body surface area of less than …show more content…
When heart failure continues to progress despite medical therapy, the next step is a heart transplant (Trivedi, 2014). Unfortunately, in most cases it takes a long time to receive the donor heart and many patients do not survive the wait. A patient in end-stage heart failure can have a chance for a good quality life while waiting for a donor heart with a ventricular assist device (Trivedi, 2014). These devices work very well at maintaining sufficient cardiovascular circulation for several years, and are now more commonly being used as permanent therapy (Dumitru,