What is a VAD?

VAD stands for Ventricular Assistance Device. The problem with Congestive Heart Failure is that the heart is unable to pump enough blood to feed the organs of the body. For my dad, there was not enough blood for the muscles of his legs and this is why he felt so week. The VAD solves this problem by essentially taking the heart out of the loop.

In the picture you can see there is a small pump below the heart. There is a line that runs out of the bottom of the heart to the top of the pump. Then a line that runs to the top of the heart. This small pump then takes the blood provided by the right side and pumps out of the heart. But the left side of the heart is no longer involved in any of the blood pumping. The result is a damaged left heart is no longer the obstacle to getting blood to the organs of the body. The VAD is controlled and powered externally to the body. So there is a wire that runs out of the stomach of the VAD owner to a controller which is about the size of paperback book. The controller is in turn powered by a couple of batteries that the owner wears except at night when the person can be plugged into a machine that powers the VAD instead. It is really an amazing piece of hardware. The FDA has approved in it for Congestive Heart Failure Patients. The VAD is implanted and used for the rest of their lives. The results are impressive in terms both longeivity and quality of life. Bed ridden patience have with the VAD become active and productive again. People live 4 times longer than with other therapies. Here's an animation of how it works. How it works If you are interested in seeing some examples here are some videos that show patients after the operation Marvin's Story To Life To see some very cool (but a little disgusting video of the actual operation Operation> Its probably not something that you would just get, but if your choice is this or death, it is a viable alternative to the afterlife.