A Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD) is a mechanical pump that is implanted in patients with heart failure. It helps the bottom left chamber of heart (left ventricle) pump blood out of the ventricle to the aorta and the rest of the body. That is why it is called a Left Ventricular Assist Device.
A left ventricular assist device (LVAD) is a pump that use for patients who have reached end-stage heart failure.
The left ventricular assist device (LVAD), is a mechanical pump that serves as a partial artificial heart. Implanted during an open procedure, an LVAD helps the left ventricle pump oxygen-rich blood to the aorta and the body.
A left ventricular assist device does not replace the heart. These state-of-the-art devices can be very effective in treating patients awaiting heart transplantation (bridge to transplant therapy), those who aren’t candidates for heart transplantation (destination therapy), and those with cardiac conditions such as advanced heart failure, cardiomyopathy, and myocarditis.
LVADs treat people with advanced heart failure – in particular, those:
- Whose health is too poor or age too advanced to undergo heart transplantation
- Who are on the heart transplant list but are not stable enough to wait for a donor heart to become available
- Whose body mass index (BMI) is considered too high for heart transplant
- Who have advanced stages of dilated cardiomyopathy or myocarditis
- Who have undergone heart surgery but cannot safely be removed from cardiopulmonary bypass.
- Who have a health problem that precludes heart transplant
- Who have experienced organ rejection after heart transplantation
- Who have had massive heart attacks with no other treatment options
The three categories of LVAD use are:
- Short-term: For high-risk patients who cannot sustain life over the long term
- Intermediate-term: For patients with a high risk of complications for up to 500 days
- Long-term: For patients with advanced heart failure who need support outside the hospital
Dr. Manoj Durairaj
M.S.(Gold Medal), M.Ch.(AIIMS, New Delhi), F.A.C.C.Dr. Manoj Durairaj an ex-Vincentian has done MS General surgery from AFMC(Gold Medal) and M.Ch. in Cardiac Surgery at AIIMS, New Delhi.
Dr. Manoj is the first Cardiac Surgeon in Pune to be elected as Fellow of the American College of Cardiology (FACC). He is the Executive Member of the Indian Association of Cardiothoracic Surgeons And Society of Heart Failure and transplantation. He is also the Joint Secretary of Indian Society of Heart and Lung Transplantation.
Director of Cardiac Surgery at Marian Cardiac Centre, Pune; Dr Durairaj is a Consultant Cardiac Surgeon at Ruby Hall Clinic, N M Wadia hospital, Jehangir Hospital and Sahyadri Hospital, Pune. Read More...