Low flow alarms
Sun, 07/22/2018 - 8:32PMHi everyone. New to forum have had HeartWare LVAD for a little over a year now. Looking for some advice on what course of action to take when I get low flow alarms. Usually my team tells me to hydrate myself and call back if issue hasn’t been resolved. The tricky part is my flow rate tends to increase with activity and decrease while at rest (i.e. sleeping). I’ve had nights where I’ve paced for hours just to keep the alarms from sounding, in the past few days I’ve been getting fairly regular low flow alarms even after drinking 3+ liters of fluid several days in a row. It also has become difficult to raise my flow rate significantly even after such fluid intake as mentioned.
I love my LVAD support team but they seem to be stumped on how to help me here. The common suggestion is to come to the hospital (1.5 hours away) to receive iv fluids. Not exactly convenient. Looking to hear any feedback possible. Thanks everyone.
Try drinking, Vita Water or
Thu, 07/26/2018 - 1:01AMHi, not sure where you are
Mon, 07/30/2018 - 1:12PMLVAD
Mon, 09/12/2022 - 3:47PMMy roommate’s low flow alarm keeps going off. He has only had the LVAD for about 2 months. He is dizzy and just doesn’t feel good in general. Any suggestions?
In reply to LVAD by Lynn M.
Thomas G.I would call my team. It’s…
Mon, 09/12/2022 - 4:16PMI would call my team. It’s only been two months so there’s a lot of adjusting and things to get used to.
In reply to LVAD by Lynn M.
Barry and Susan (caregiver) S.Alarm
Mon, 09/19/2022 - 3:25PMTalk to your team.
In reply to LVAD by Lynn M.
Diane B.Low flow
Mon, 09/19/2022 - 4:28PMGet hold of LVAD team. Your roommate may be having what is known as suction events because the “native” heart is still pumping a fair bit and with the LVAD too much blood is being pushed out of heart at the same time. Dropping my husband’s RPMs really helped him. How low does his MAP get when this happens?