LVAD... Left Ventricular Assist Device

THIS BLOG POWERED BY THE THORATEC HEARTMATE II LVAD:















PARTIAL HEART PUMP = LEFT VENTRICULAR ASSIST DEVICE = LVAD = THE HEARTMATE II



THE LVAD ALLOWED ME to go HOME and conquer my normal and newest tasks once again.



Thank you Columbia-Presbyterian... Dr Naka and his Surgery Team, LVAD Nation, Dr Bijou & Dr Bonoan, Dr Mascitelli and Dr Shulman-Marcus!!!



AND TO THE SCORES OF PHYSICIANS, NURSES, PROFESSIONALS AND PEOPLE THAT PUSHED ME ALONG THE WAY... FORWARD.



Thank You God For I Am Blessed!







If I Was An LVAD-NASCAR Race CAR

If I Was An LVAD-NASCAR Race CAR
I would look like this :-)

FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY LVAD DAILY NEWS AND INFO FEED

24 March 2010

Meeting With THORATEC In The Flesh,Blood And Titanium (and Richard Gere too)



THORATEC (THOR) the maker of the HEARTMATE ll LVAD had sent word to me that they have seen my blog and complimented it. THOR has always been professionally approachable with any question, concern or idea that I had. Then my wife and I received a message that THORATEC wanted to meet with me - flesh, blood and titanium. We were quite honored and a time and place was set. A small and quaint Manhattan Italian restaurant.

We met at dinner and the THOR representative (he plays a visionary role within the ranks of THOR) truly took his time to listen to an LVAD recipient and shared some innovative info that continues to show that
THORATEC IS A CARING COMPANY that constantly pushes the envelope on LVAD technology and LVAD recipient comfort. The dinner lasted 4 hours.


At the restaurant where the dinner-meeting was set, were Richard Gere, the actor, and his wife Carrie Lowell, eating dinner. When it was time for us to leave, the THORATEC representative went to get his coat and accidentally tried to give Gere's wife his coat-claim ticket and a tip. She rejected his gesture and walked back to her table and husband. Apparently she was returning from the restroom that was near to the coat-check closet. It was too funny! An honest mistake.

Then we walked the THOR rep to his hotel...almost a mile away. We said our goodbyes and my wife and I (powered by the Heartmate ll) walked back to our truck which was parked by the restaurant. We had an outstanding and memorable evening and a brief encounter with Richard Gere and his wife.


We know we are in good hands with a company like THORATEC.

And the good saga continues...

21 March 2010

LVAD AWARENESS for Paramedics/EMT/EMS Ambulance Companies. 911 PROTOCOL?


Currently i am visiting online emergency services forums. Most are unaware of how to treat an LVAD patient. They do not know that LVAD recipients do not have a pulse or a "readable" blood pressure. However, they are all eager to learn.


The Heartmate ll made by THORATEC is the first CONTINUOUS FLOW DEVICE. It has only one moving part making it more reliable. Since it is a continuous flow design, the blood is in constant flow as opposed to the native heart beating that creates the pulse. The Heartmate ll is approved by the FDA for use in the USA for Bridge To Transplant (BTT) and Destination Therapy (DT) patients.


THE SCENARIO:

A 911 call is made from a cell phone at a mall. A male patient collapses and seems too sluggish to move. An ambulance is immediately dispatched to the location. The paramedics arrive and find the patient sitting on the floor with his wife by his side. The male patient is conscious and answers the questions the paramedics ask.

He states he became dizzy and passed out. The patient continues to say that he has a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implanted and grafted to his heart. The LVAD helps pump oxygen-enriched blood that his damaged heart can not do. The male patient also claims that due to the design of the LVAD, basic equipment WILL NOT detect his Blood Pressure nor Pulse.


Only special Doppler equipment will detect his vitals.

It appears that the patient has lost color and is sweating. What next? There is a titanium heart/blood pump implanted to his heart. If needed, are chest compressions dangerous for this patient? The answer is YES! It can cause the LVAD to dislodge from the heart and the patient can internally bleed.

I am a 47 yo male with an LVAD implant. I DON'T HAVE the conventionally found Blood Pressure and I do not have a Pulse, However I am alive and well and I am trying to raise awareness of 911/EMT/LVAD PROTOCOL and to obtain more info from the experts on how to spread this crucial topic. It is predicted that the LVAD will be as common as dialysis.

So it is imperative that our 1st responders should be "user-friendly" with LVAD recipients especially when most LVAD recipients are leading mobile and normal lives.

Thank you

and the good saga continues...