There are some things in life that we simply take for granted— the way your heart beats or how it pumps blood. We don't actively think about the fascinating, intricate details that make these complex processes tick. Yet, the heart does its job, every single day, allowing you to do the things you love. (In the time that it has taken you to read this sentence, your heart has pumped over a liter of blood.) But sometimes, it needs a little help to keep doing what it has to do— a condition like heart failure makes it difficult for your heart to pump enough blood for your body’s needs.

Innovative health technologies, are helping even those people with end-stage heart failure to discover a life full of possibilities. 

Understanding what your heart needs

Heart failure is a disorder in which the heart cannot fill up with enough blood or is too weak to pump blood adequately. Needless to say, it requires sophisticated medical intervention and management. Until not too long ago, a heart transplant was the only curative therapy for people with heart failure. But given the complexity of the procedure, not everyone qualifies for it— your age, fitness levels etc. could restrict your eligibility for a transplant; even for people who are eligible for it, the wait for a donor could be long, making it imperative to find support in the interim. Depending on the person’s health condition, severity of their disorder, as well as the availability of a donor, advanced heart failure patients are either recommended a heart transplant, prescribed medication or referred to palliative care to manage their symptoms. A health condition with limited treatment and management options is understandably tumultuous for a person and their loved ones.

Fortunately, over the last few years, the evolution of health technology has ushered in new possibilities for people with cardiac disorders such as heart failure. Innovations like the Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD) offer hope for those with end-stage heart failure.

LVAD: a revolution in treating heart failure

LVAD is a surgically implanted, battery-operated, mechanical circulatory support pump— a device for heart failure that helps the left ventricle, which is the main pumping chamber of the heart, pump blood to the rest of the body. It plays a crucial role in reducing the load on the heart, helping it overcome its inability to supply blood to your organs. By maintaining gentle blood handling, it minimizes the room for complications, emerging as a safe and life-prolonging option for people who need short-term as well as long-term circulatory support— it acts as a bridge therapy for those waiting for a heart transplant, and in some cases, as a destination therapy instead of a heart transplant.

LVADs can be lifesaving for individuals who are awaiting a heart transplant. In some cases, they have been shown to restore the function of a failing heart, eliminating the need for a transplant. Many medical institutions now use LVAD as a ‘bridge to decision’, where a patient is implanted with an LVAD and the decision for a heart transplant is taken based on the course their treatment takes over subsequent months. Research has also shown that health outcomes are better in instances where LVAD is used as a bridge-to-transplant vis-à-vis a transplant-only strategy. Similarly, LVADs can act as a destination therapy for people who are ineligible for a heart transplant. In fact, LVADs have demonstrated the same impact as a heart transplant over a period of a year when used as a destination therapy, helping to successfully extend and improve the lives of people with heart failure.