Saving Hearts With LVADs

Reported May 2005

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (Ivanhoe Broadcast News) -- Nearly 5 million Americans live with failing hearts, and that number keeps going up each year. In the past, the only option was heart transplants. But now, an implantable device may offer a permanent solution.

Like many grandparents, David Hodurski lives for the little ones and for the little moments. When doctors told him his heart was failing, every one counted.

"I couldn't walk from here to that wall prior to this without being totally exhausted," Hodurski says.

An implant gave Hodurski his life back. It's called a left-ventricular assist device -- also known as an LVAD. In the past, LVADs were only used on patients awaiting a heart transplant. But now, they may also benefit those who are not candidates for a transplant -- and could even double their survival rate.

Cardiothoracic surgeon Charles Klodell, M.D., of University of Florida in Gainesville, says, "Now, for the first time, for people who are appropriate candidates for this and maybe not for transplantation, we have something to offer them."

Surgeons place the device in the abdomen and connect it to the left ventricle. Once implanted, it takes blood out of the failing heart and pumps it into the body. That offers relief for patients with heart failure.

"Literally, in 24 hours, you'll walk by, and they'll tell you, 'I can't believe how much better I feel.," Dr. Klodell says.

"[With the implant], I have no problem," Hodurski says. "I can get around. I just have to watch things like things that draw a lot of electricity."

Patients have to change their batteries about every three hours, but Hodurski says it's worth it. "You know, if I got to cart these around the rest of my life, that's still a small price to pay for the rest of my life." And he hopes researchers will continue to look for new options for the next generation of hearts.

Dr. Klodell says a heart transplant is still the preferred treatment if patients are candidates. About 100 centers in the United States offer LVADs as a permanent therapy. The device lasts about two years before having to be replaced. Dr. Klodell says the next generation of pumps may last five to six years.

Click here to Go Inside This Science or contact:

Kristen Faircloth
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL
(352) 846-0362

Lance Skelly
PAO
(352) 265-0373
skelll@shands.ufl.edu

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