Discussions: Living with an LVAD

Hello everyone! I was interested to know if anyone received the Covid vaccine and has an LVAD Can you share your story .. side effects and any advice

Lets get to it. The worst thing that can happen to an LVAD user is a drive line infection. It can put you in the hospital many times over and cures with the various antibiotics may or may not work for you. It can lead to extra surgeries for debridement and in some cases make it worse. In my case I...

Hello VAD community, I'm a nurse from Vancouver B.C. Canada, and I'm hoping to get a sense from patients and caregivers, in terms of preference in receiving care (VAD or not VAD related), in the community versus back at the implanting hospital. My hope is that your input would help shape the future...

Hello! I am a student at the University of Washington in an engineering class project hoping to improve the life for people with LVADs. We have been working on this project for a couple of months, and discussed with VAD coordinators, cardiologists, and industry professionals in healthcare. I would...

Did any of you get you implant done through the left side ribs?

Received my LVAD March 2, 2019, and can not walk any distance without a walker. I truly thought I would be able to function without it, but that has not been the case. I get very short of breath walking without the walker, but can walk a long way with it. Anyone have the same experience?

Hello all, I'm not exactly new to living with an LVAD since I've had mine for two years now, but I'm still adjusting and trying to cope with it. It's a huge change in my life that happened at a very young age. I was only twenty-one years old when I got my LVAD and I've spent two of my birthdays in...

My husband is 74 and also destination LVAD. His breathing has really gone down hill, because of dysfunction of the right ventricular , which creates regurgitation of the Tricuspid, thus fluid retention , thus increase Pulmonary disease. He was just at the hospital , Mayo, to see his Team. So for now...

Can a person age 75 getting a LVAD live alone or do they need a 24/7 caretaker?

After nearly 4 and a half years I finally got hit with the infection. Until this point nothing. Traveled worked taught. To date been in the hospital twice 4 sets of different IVs while in the hospital. Now at home taking Cipro 500mg twice per day. Feeling ok, however I have yet to find anything...

My husband got his Lvad in September, 2019. Everything was going great without any problems until June, 2019. He came down with a slight fever and was not feeling well. He was still doing his exercises and everyday activities, but sleeping more and a sluggish. His driveline looked good so we knew it...

Hello We are students at University of Toronto learning about LVAD and blood pressure. We are working with cardiologists and engineers to try and see how we can improve the blood pressure measuring experience for patients and caregivers. If you have a few minutes to answer a quick 10-question survey...

Hello everyone, I am familiar with VADs because I am a cardiovascular perfusionist - the person who operates the heart lung machine. At the hospital I work at were are very involved in VAD implant surgery, but also are responsible for taking care of VAD patients when they come to the operating room...

Has anyone out there in LVAD land been successful in changing their own driveline dressings and if so, please pass along how you do it. I can only get so far before I have to let my wife finish the job. I currently do a sterile dressing change but am having a hard time lining up the tagaderm and...

If a LVAD recipient is doing some heavy physical activity like running, gyming or playing any sport, how does LVAD, which runs at constant speed, going to match the demand of blood supply. If it doesn't able to fulfill the requirement how does it going the affect the recipient? how dangerous it...

My name is Larrie and I’m Story Producer for a show called Life on Batteries, as well as an LVAD patient myself. I was hoping you could help me with research for an upcoming episode by sharing your experiences around emergency controller changes. This also may be a good discussion topic in itself...

My husband received his LVAD Oct 2016 and although there’s been lots of highs and lows - we are grateful for the time he’s gained and still gaining ! However he has a lot of phlegm (sorry) and respiratory secretions that are getting worse . Has anybody else experienced these symptoms, he’s kind of...

Hello everyone, To have a great website like this can give hope and happiness for alot of people. My husband had his lvad 2 months back. And he have a C-rtd too. Still trying to adjust with his new life style. I have one question, i tried to google it but i couldnt find an answer for it, hopefully...

We seem to have issues with the anchors staying attached to the skin. Yes we clean with alcohol, let it dry, apply the skin barrier, let that dry and it still comes off. We have also tried with it with out the skin barrier after cleaning the skin with alcohol, and they still come off.

Has anyone figured out a comfortable way to get back behind the wheel? There has to be a better way than wearing the batteries on your hips. And how do I change from prospective patient to recipient?