VAD therapy helps you live better with heart failure

If you have advanced heart failure that hasn’t responded to medication, ventricular assist device (VAD) therapy may be a solution for you. These devices are mechanical pumps that help your heart work more efficiently.

Treating advanced heart failure with a VAD

Heart failure is a condition where your heart does not pump blood as well as it should. As a result, your body and vital organs don’t get enough blood, oxygen and nutrients. Many people develop heart failure after having a heart attack or because of another heart condition, such as coronary artery disease, heart valve disease or cardiomyopathy.

Lifestyle changes and medications are common treatments in the condition’s early stages, but heart failure can progress to the point where medications and lifestyle changes are no longer effective. In those instances, your cardiologist or cardiovascular surgeon may recommend more intensive treatment with a VAD or, in very severe cases, a heart transplant.

VADs are sometimes referred to as destination therapy, meaning that they can serve as the only treatment you need to manage advanced heart failure. VADs are also used as a bridge-to-transplant treatment, which means they can keep your heart functioning while you wait for a heart transplant.

Cardiovascular surgeon performing ventricular assist device (VAD) surgery in the operating room on

Ventricular assist device types

Heart failure can affect either or both of your two ventricles, the lower chambers of your heart. The VAD you receive will depend on which ventricle is weakened.

Left ventricular assist devices (LVADs)

The most common type of VAD, LVAD, helps your left ventricle pump blood out of the heart and into the aorta, which carries it to the rest of your body.

Benefits of VADs

The primary benefit of VAD therapy is that it improves your quality of life and may help you live longer.

Heart failure has no cure, and if standard treatments don’t help you, your heart may grow too weak. A VAD takes over the functions necessary to keep the heart muscle beating and blood flowing regularly, reducing your symptoms and allowing you to continue your daily activities with fewer limitations.

Additionally, if your doctor has recommended a heart transplant, you must wait for a donor heart to become available. A VAD can keep your heart working properly in the interim.

Woman with a ventricular assist device (VAD) smiling at the camera on a bright, sunny day outdoors

What to expect when receiving a VAD

  • Your VAD features a mechanical pump that draws blood away from your ventricle and sends it to major arteries. It will have an external controller and battery pack that connect to the device through a tube inserted through your stomach.
  • You’ll need open-heart surgery to have the VAD implanted. While you’re under anesthesia, your cardiothoracic surgeon makes an incision in your chest and opens your breastbone to access your heart. The surgeon attaches the pump under the affected ventricle or ventricles and connects it to your aorta or pulmonary artery, depending on which type of VAD you receive.
  • The procedure takes four to six hours.
  • You’ll stay in the intensive care unit for a few days after the procedure and then transfer to another unit in the hospital.

Follow-up care after VAD surgery

Before you go home, your care team will explain how your VAD works, how to use the controller and when to change the batteries. They will also teach you how to care for your surgical incision and give you other instructions for your short—and long-term recovery.

After you leave the hospital, you will follow up with your provider regularly. You’ll need to practice good hygiene to protect against infection and ensure your device’s batteries are always charged and in good working order. Contact your provider if you experience issues with your pump.

Your care team may also recommend cardiac rehabilitation as part of your recovery plan. This program, designed to help people recover from heart surgeries and manage chronic heart conditions, is led by a team of expert physical therapists. They will monitor your progress as you learn exercises and other strategies to protect and strengthen your heart, contributing to your overall recovery and health.

Cardiologist sitting at a desk with a patient, explaining follow-up care for a ventricular assist d

Frequently asked questions