I only knew the Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD) existed just one week prior to my LVAD implant / surgery. 11 days later... I was home with my LVAD in front of my computer looking up the Who, What, When, Where, and Why of the LVAD.
This website is run by a group of passionate Medical Professionals who happen to be practicing physicians within The Hospice/Palliative Care field. The Pallimed's website offers ideas, debate and methodologies of their work within... allowing seriously ill people to live with dignity, control and freedom of choice; all in an effort to offer Quality Of Life... throughout their serious illnesses at the end stages of life.
Having an LVAD and experiencing a healthy existence, again, I can only imagine that the LVAD will prolong many lives that otherwise would have expired just a few years ago.
However, it does not stop there. The same Doctors and Medical professionals that run PalliMed's website and Blog are also spearheading Hospice and Palliative issues via Social Media/Networking. They can be found on Facebook, twitter...
Below are direct links to Pallimed's
articles mentioning the LVAD :
Pallimed: A Hospice & Palliative Medicine Blog: Destination LVADsNov 12, 2008 ... We see a LOT of LVADs at my hospital. They truly can be a bridge to better things--but often they are a "bridge to nowhere". ...
http://www.pallimed.org/2008/11/destination-lvads.htmlPallimed: Case Conferences: November 2008Nov 13, 2008 ... Most recently, she went to the OR to have her current LVAD replaced with a ... Patients on LVADS or BIVADS are physically restricted...
http://www.pallimed.org/2008_11_01_archive.htmlPallimed: A Hospice & Palliative Medicine Blog: Heart failure ...Aug 27, 2007 ... LVADs, in the simplest terms, are implantable devices which augment the pumping ... Full-sized LVAD image (& further discussion) at WebMD, ...
http://www.pallimed.org/2007/08/heart-failure-devices.htmlPallimed: A Hospice & Palliative Medicine Blog: Rise of the MachinesDec 10, 2009 ... For those of you unfamiliar with LVADs, essentially they are .... Personally, I'd take the LVAD, at least at a younger age (and if you are ...
http://www.pallimed.org/2009/12/rise-of-machines.htmlPallimed: A Hospice & Palliative Medicine Blog: Holiday HeartAug 15, 2010 ... At the time, LVADs were used only as a bridge to heart transplant. ... The number of patients receiving a LVAD as a bridge to transplant or ...
http://www.pallimed.org/2010/08/holiday-heart.htmlPallimed: A Hospice & Palliative Medicine Blog: Pall-PourriDec 3, 2008 ... Many of the cases submitted this year for the Annual Assembly case conferences were on LVAD's. We ended up selecting one. December 08, 2008 ...
http://www.pallimed.org/2008/12/pall-pourri.htmlPallimed: A Hospice & Palliative Medicine Blog: 09_12Dec 1, 2009 ... For those of you unfamiliar with LVADs, essentially they are implanted pumps which are inserted directed into the heart and major vessels ...
http://www.pallimed.org/2009_12_01_archive.htmlPallimed: A Hospice & Palliative Medicine Blog: 07_08Aug 3, 2007 ... Journal of the American College of Cardiology has a trial looking at left-ventricular assist devices (LVADs) as destination therapy in ...
http://www.pallimed.org/2007_08_01_archive.htmlPallimed: A Hospice & Palliative Medicine Blog: NYT Sunday ...Jun 20, 2010 ... I come across these situations fairly often working at a large hospital where the heart transplant and LVAD services are quite aggressive. ...
And the good saga continues...