A ventricular assist device (VAD) is a pump that helps a failing heart deliver blood to the rest of body. The Heart Center’s Congestive Heart Failure and Heart Transplant Program has the region’s only Ventricular Assist Device program in the region. VADs are grouped according to the area of the heart in need of support: - A left ventricular assist device (LVAD) helps the left side of the heart push blood to the aorta, the body’s main blood vessel. They are the most common type of heart pump.
- A right ventricular assist device (RVAD) pulls blood from the right side of the heart and sends it to the lungs.
- Bi-ventricular assist devices (BVAD) help both sides of the heart pump blood.
All VADs require surgery to be implanted into the body. The VAD pump can either be placed outside the body (external) or inside the body (implantable). An external VAD has a pump outside the body. This type of VAD is usually a short-term solution, and is most frequently used if a patient’s heart is weak due to recent heart surgery or if the patient is waiting to have a more permanent pump implanted. However, they may be used for longer periods of time, such as while waiting for a heart transplant. Some types of external VADs require a stay in the hospital while the pump is needed. An implantable ventricular assist device (IVAD) has a pump that is usually placed under the skin in the upper stomach area. |
Vinay Thohan, M.D., associate professor of cardiology is medical director of the Heart Center ’s Congestive Heart Failure and Heart Transplant Program.
“We provide appropriately selected patients the option for artificial cardiac support until an acceptable donor is available,” said Thohan. “The cardiac transplant program at Wake Forest Baptist has been a vital medical resource serving the north and northwest regions of the state since its inception in 1988. We have been and will continue to be committed to the roughly 2.5 million residents throughout this region in providing state-of-the-art treatment for advanced cardiac disease.” |
All VADs use a hollow tube, which connects the pump to the heart. Blood that leaves the heart flows through this tube and into the pump, so the heart doesn’t have to work as hard. The pump then sends the blood to a major artery, such as the aorta or pulmonary artery.
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Dr. Thohan has put into place a team of experts in coordination with Timothy E. Oaks, M.D., surgical director of the Cardiac Transplant program.
The team includes: · Hospitalist, Rahul Kumar, M.D. · Inpatient Advanced Nurse Practitioner Lisa Ann Kiger, A.P.R.N.-B.C. · Cardiac Transplant Coordinator Sherry Close, R.N., C.C.T.C. · Ventricular Assist Device Coordinator, Shannon Clinard, R.N. · Outpatient Heart Failure Registered Nurse/Clinical Trials Coordinator, Sharon Viverette, R.N. · Chief Perfusionist, David Charles
| Both external and implantable VADs are attached to a computer that controls the pumping. Patients can often wear the computer around the waist, attached to a belt. In the case of an IVAD, the wire coming from the implanted heart pump runs through a tiny opening in the skin and then to a computer outside the body. Most VADs can run on batteries, so the patient can go home and resume some regular activities. A person may need a VAD if they have severe heart failure that cannot be controlled with medicine or a special pacemaker, or if they are waiting for a heart transplant.People with kidney failure, liver disease, severe lung problems, blood clotting or other bleeding disorders or infections that do not go away with treatment may not be considered for a heart pump. Heart failure patients who are not good candidates for heart transplant may use a VAD for the rest of their life. |