Community Forums

Hi all! I am new to the community and have a few questions about international travel. My boyfriend (27yoa) had his LVAD implanted about 6 months ago. We just took our first trip from MSP to DC and had no problem with luggage at all (and we flew Spirit!). We took one wheeled carry-on and everything...

Just got this from a company out of Florida that my MCMS team was working with. Continuum They can supply all of your patches, foley anchors, silver foam etc. It is billed diretly to Medicare which is a god send, since I was pushing $450 per month, now I can save what I didn't have to begin with....

Hi- just figured out how to find & use this site. 2 questions 1-Anyone know what > 12 Means in both Peak & trough??? 2- open you up chest/ sternum Is there a less invasive operation? Thanks

In September, 2015. I had two (no pain) heart attacks, one while in the hospital. My cardiologist (he had put two stents in me some years earlier) told me that my left ventricle was in bad shape and that I might not live to the end of the year. This scared the hell out of me since I was my wife's...

Hi, I have had my Lvad for seven years. Recently I have developed fluid around the pump they removed one and 1/3 liters by aspiration however after a month it came back. I have had a surgery done at Tufts New England Medical Center in Boston but the procedure was not successful and two months later...

Hello to all of my LVAD brothers and sisters out there. Come the middle of this month I will have had my LVAD HM II for 5 years. Not a bad stinit considering 5 years ago I should have died. But my primary LVAD and Cardiac Hospital pulled me through with 3 months in the hospital, massive infections...

Hi- just figured out how to find & use this site. 2 questions 1-Anyone know what > 12 Means in both Peak & trough??? 2- open you up chest/ sternum Is there a less invasive operation? Thanks

HI, Has anyone on here, or someone you know, ever had an Impella device placed? It's claim is that it's the world's smallest heart pump. It takes over 50% or more of your heart function. I had one placed on 03/07/17. They left it in maybe 2-3 days. I was pretty out of it so I'm not sure how long it...

Medi-Materials has an undershirt called the Freedom Undervest. https://medi-materials.com/product/freedom-undervest/

I will soon complete 6 years since I received my Heartmate 2. When I was admitted at Mayo Clinic in PHX AZ I had a severe congestive heart failure. My ejection fraction was less than 10%. I had been sent by two other hospitals to Hospice care and given 90 days to live in February of 2012. I had lost...

Hi everyone who replied to my post. I would just like to say a big Thank you it has helped to know there are others out there that has similar problems. I would like to wish everyone a happy Christmas and all best wishes for the new year.

Life with an LVAD can be challenging, and loved ones in your life may not realize just how different your day-to-day activities look. From cleaning, inspecting, and changing the bandages on your exit wound to plugging in your LVAD equipment at night, life just looks a bit different after receiving...

Have my VAD for 7 weeks now, and all is well. Still very tired after a flight of steps. Have the model HM 3. It's weird having to carry a bag 24/7. Anyway, just saying hello. Benny.

I've had my device for 3 years and the past couple of months, the skin under the bandage and the foley anchor has started to itch, but I don't know from what. I don't know if it's the Tegraderm, the cloraprep which my doctor said to switch to alcohol to clean the area, or the skin prep solution. I...

My husband had a heart transplant . He had a LVAD : Heartmate 2.We are located in Massachusetts . In Middlesex county . If you need driveline kits we have then to give if you are in need. Please Email me and we will make a connection acura1234567@aol.com. God bless.

We developed the Freedom Undervest so that patients could continue doing the things they love. This week on the blog, we discuss traveling with an LVAD. Did you know 38% of people we polled say they haven't traveled since their LVAD procedure? Reclaim your wanderlust and hit the road, with the...

Wife was implanted 3 yrs ago with heartmate 2 and has since had 3 drive-line revisions due to infection. We have been told transplant is not a option and have been forwarded to palliative care. We have been commuting from Kansas City to STL sfor care, but this has drained all our resources and...

My Dad received a heart transplant in 2015. We believed that he would make it through. All through FAITH in God knowing that there would be a reason. I am grateful to God everyday for also renewing him heart, mind, and soul to know who God is in his life!! Stay strong and believe!! I will be...

I was disappointed to hear from my doctor that right now I'm not a candidate for an LVAD. I didn't know until my doctor informed us that your heart has to be enlarged and you have to have a certain Ejection fraction in order to get an LVAD. Right now my heart isn't the size and my ejection fraction...

The Freedom Undervest keeps your LVAD equipment safe all day. We recommend sleeping in your Freedom Undervest, so that your LVAD equipment stays secure at night, and you remain comfortable. (It helps to have more than one vest, so that you can rotate them throughout the week.) Visit our Blog to get...