LVAD Gives Ram a Path to Heart Transplant

For more information on heart surgery or #YaleMedicine, visit: https://www.yalemedicine.org/news/lva...

When Ram, 30, was diagnosed with severe end-stage heart failure from an inherited heart condition, his Yale doctors knew he wasn’t going to be able to leave the hospital unless he had incredible support. Fortunately, a type of mechanical heart pump, called a “left ventricular assist device”—or LVAD—was an available option for him. The device is surgically implanted into the heart’s left ventricle, which pumps blood to the rest of the body. LVADs—and ventricular assist devices, in general—are sometimes called “bridge to transplant” devices, because they can stabilize a person’s heart and improve quality of life while they are waiting for a heart transplant—a process that can take months or longer.