Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD)

If you are living with heart failure, medications and lifestyle changes can greatly relieve your symptoms. If these therapies are not enough, a heart failure treatment called a left ventricular device (LVAD) will restore sufficient blood flow to your body so you have more energy, stamina, and a better quality of life.

What is an LVAD?

An LVAD is a surgically implanted mechanical heart pump that assists the pumping ability of a severely weakened heart. During the surgery, a small pump is implanted in the chest to help move blood throughout the body. This life-saving technology can be an alternative to a heart transplant or keep someone alive until they can receive one.

Many people who receive an LVAD have improved stamina, can return to work, and do more of the activities they enjoy.

Am I a Candidate for an LVAD?

LVADs are used to treat the most advanced forms of heart failure. People who have advanced heart failure and who continue to experience symptoms (shortness of breath at rest or with minimal activities, significant fatigue, increasing heart failure-related hospitalizations, and decreasing ability to perform their daily activities due to shortness of breath or fatigue) despite medical therapy can be evaluated for an LVAD.

Sometimes, people end up in the hospital very sick and with a cardiac emergency, needing to be evaluated for an LVAD at that time. Earlier consultation with an advanced heart failure specialist is best and leads to better outcomes.

Evaluation for an LVAD

Our multidisciplinary team determines if you are eligible for the LVAD heart failure treatment. We are careful to ensure that you will truly benefit from the surgery. Our team consists of an advanced heart failure cardiologist, a cardiovascular surgeon, a social worker, a palliative care specialist, and a nurse coordinator. Depending on your medical history, other medical specialists may also be involved in the evaluation.

The evaluation may include:

• Blood tests
• A chest X-ray to get pictures of your heart and lungs
• An echocardiogram to see how well your heart is pumping
• A maximal exercise test (v02 test) to measure how much oxygen you use during exercise
• An electrocardiogram to measure the electrical activity in your heart
• Cardiac catheterizations to identify any blockages in your blood vessels and measure the pressure in your heart and lungs
• A pulmonary function test to measure your lung strength
• Abdominal and carotid ultrasounds to assess blood flow through your vascular system and organs
• An ankle-brachial index (ABl) test to check how well your blood is flowing through your arms and legs

The evaluation process may take several days or weeks. It can be done in our clinic or during your stay if you are hospitalized.

LVAD Surgery at Virtua

A left ventricular assist device is a surgically implanted mechanical pump that is attached directly to the heart. During the procedure, one end of the pump is attached to your left ventricle, which is the chamber of the heart that pumps blood out of the heart and to your body. The left ventricle is the part of the heart that is weak when you have heart failure.

The other end is attached to your aorta, the body’s main artery. Blood flows from the heart into the pump and is then moved into the aorta. A tube, called the driveline, passes from the device through the skin and connects (at all times) the pump to the external controller and power source, such as a rechargeable battery (which can provide up to 17 hours of uninterrupted power) or a cord plugged into an electrical outlet.

Benefits of an LVAD 

After receiving an LVAD, you will have:

• More energy
• Increased stamina
• Improved function of your kidneys, liver, brain, and other organs
• Decreased swelling
• An improved quality of life

An LVAD is not a cure for heart failure. But 80% of people who undergo LVAD heart failure treatment are alive one year later. More than 50% are alive five years later.