2 Years And 7 Months... LVAD Life As I Know It

At the risk of sounding redundant, quality of life couldnt be better for me.  I often think of how I felt prior to my LVAD implant in November 2009.  It is like night and day.  From very short distances of walking to almost unlimited amounts of walking. I have gone from a tentative Iron Man to a one that pushes my limits in an effort that safely tests my LVAD limits and my own Native Heart.

In FACT 2 days ago my wife and I walked close to 8 miles throughout Manhattan with approximately 3 1/2 miles of walking on the High Line in the Meat Packing District.  if you dont know what the High Line is, visit here: www.HighLine.Org

The High Line is truly an Oasis located on a former elevated Train line that the Meat Packing District used for deliveries.  It stands to be the most beautiful and innovative Boardwalk that I have ever walked on.  Views of the NYC and NJ skylines as well as interactive displays of nature... nestled between a beautifully landscape walk of Art, flowers, trees, grass, water.  The scent of the flowers almost blanket the entire walk from end to end. there is also a "river inspired" water display that tricks the mind into thinking we are at a river bank :-)

So, without my HeartMate II / LVAD things such as this i couldnt enjoy. I am blessed to be able to reap from the benefits of my HeartMate II

AND THE GOOD SAGA CONTINUES...

THE LVAD IN AN ILLUSTRATIVE PERSPECTIVE

And The Good Saga Continues...

Tomorrow Is Not Promised To Anyone... But...

Tomorrow is not promised to anyone. I can attest to that and feel more blessed that the LVAD has given me the quality of life (naturally with some restrictions) I had prior to my heart attack.

The remnants of my silent heart attack left me struggling to walk a maximum of 5 feet, let alone run. My left ventricle ceased to function at an adequate rate to sustain life as I knew it... i could not even hold my 10 month old grandson!

Running, swimming and contact sports are some of the restrictions while with the LVAD, however I am free to enjoy lifting my grandchildren... and trying to keep up with them.

I look back and think that without the LVAD, the best case scenario would find myself confined to my sofa, maybe a hospital bed in my own home... or even admitted to the hospital full time... for up to a year or more awaiting a heart transplant.

The LVAD is a gift that i can never repay to all those committed... to Thoratec, who brought my Heartmate2 LVAD to reality, the team who implanted and grafted the LVAD to my heart. And last but not least, the LVAD Nation located on the 7th floor at Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital. THANK YOU AGAIN AND AGAIN!


What the heart attack took away the LVAD GAVE BACK TO ME. This is priceless.

For the past 7 months, after my LVAD implant, the LVAD has continued to make "me" feel like "me" again!

And the good saga continues...

email me @: LVADone@gmail.com

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...