Frequently Asked Questions About LVAD

No. LVAD works with your heart, but it does not replace it.

No. LVAD does not deliver electrical impulses to your heart muscles. Patients typically keep their pacemaker/defibrillator even with an LVAD. 

Complications of LVAD surgery are similar to the potential complications of any open heart surgery. Some of the possible complications related to the LVAD include bleeding, infection, device malfunction, right heart failure, kidney failure, stroke and pump clot or death. Your surgeon will discuss the benefits and potential risks in detail with you prior to the procedure.

Our goal is to get you back to living as normal a life as possible. While there are some restrictions, the majority of patients experience a significant increase in their quality of life after the LVAD is implanted.

Surgery to implant an LVAD usually takes from four to six hours.

The average length of hospital stay for LVAD patients is two to three weeks. Care is individualized to meet patient needs.

After LVAD surgery, most patients generally spend three to five days recovering in the ICU at Prebys Cardiovascular Institute, and then move to a regular hospital room. Most patients are in the hospital for 2-3 weeks.

During this time, our physical and occupational therapists and dietitians will work with you to speed up your recovery process. We will continue to educate you and your care partner about caring for the LVAD, and your care partner will participate in driveline dressing changes with the LVAD coordinator.

Following your hospital stay, you will either go home or to an inpatient rehabilitation program, depending on your strength and overall needs. At the rehab facility, we focus on helping you build your strength and prepare to go home. You and your care partner will also have the chance to finish up any education about LVAD care and driveline dressing changes.

Some patients will go to inpatient cardiac rehabilitation after their LVAD is implanted, while others are discharged directly home with home-based physical therapy and occupational therapy visits.

You will need a care partner with you 24 hours a day for at least two to three weeks after LVAD implantation. Once you get stronger, the LVAD team will discuss increasing your independence. Each patient will receive a detailed, personalized post-surgery care plan. Your caregiver will discuss with you how to recognize the first signs of complication so problems can be treated as quickly as possible.

Your caregiver will help take care of you while you are recovering from surgery. They will also be trained on the LVAD equipment so they can recognize alarms and know how to respond. You will need help getting to and from clinic appointments while you are recovering. Your caregiver will also be responsible for doing the lifelong dressing changes where the tube comes out of your abdomen.

Showering is dependent on when your LVAD driveline exit site is healed. Your LVAD coordinator will advise you when it is safe to shower.

Driving is restricted until your breastbone (sternum) heals. We will discuss this with you on your follow-up visits. Totally restricted activities include swimming (equipment and driveline cannot be submerged in water), contact sports and arc welding. Women are not to become pregnant while on LVAD support because of device-related complications.

Yes, however your breastbone will need to be completely healed. You must be able to walk up two flights of stairs without becoming overly tired before sexual relations are allowed. Please discuss your recovery status with your physician before engaging in sexual activity.

Yes, depending on the kind of work you do you should be able to return to work once you’ve recovered from surgery. Please discuss this with your LVAD team.

We will provide you with education on what to do during these situations, as well as a phone number for access to the LVAD team 24 hours a day, seven days a week in the event of an emergency.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved LVADs for use for five years. However, lab tests suggest that it could last 15 years to 20 years because there is minimal to no wear on the pump itself.

According to the manufacturers, a set of fully charged batteries will last from 16-18 hours. The actual battery life depends on the amount of power required to run the pump. LVAD batteries are recharged nightly when plugged into a power module.

Yes. Your pump has what’s called continuous flow. Because of this, patients may or may not have a pulse, so it is normal if you don’t feel one.

The device itself weighs almost 1 pound, and the equipment that you wear daily weighs around 4 pounds combined.

Yes, patients are on both Warfarin and aspirin. There are rare exceptions to this. Your care team will discuss all of your medications with you and any side effects that you may experience from blood thinners.

Yes, an LVAD can be removed once the heart regains strength and can support the body’s needs, but this is very rare <5%).

When certain complications occur it may be necessary to replace the pump.

No, patients may not have MRIs.

Yes, LVAD patients can travel! You get an LVAD to improve your quality of life and that includes traveling. Your LVAD coordinators work with you to provide letters and instructions for safe travel. They will inform the LVAD center nearest to where you are traveling that you are in the area in case you need emergency care.

A thin cord called a driveline runs from the LVAD motor through a tiny opening in the skin and connects to the controller and batteries outside the patient’s body. Your caregiver learns to put a sterile dressing over this site.