Patients and Caregivers Forums

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...

Does anyone test their INR at home? Was it worth the investment? Were you able to get insurance to pick up any of the cost of the device?

I have Heartmate II equipment for sale. It is in STELLAR condition, recently tune up my my LVAD team, cleaned, new power cord added, new batteries given to me, new battery tops..... everything! I also have a gently used LVAD bag. It's like new! And I had driveline site care supplies and LOADS of...

I've got to assume there is some backup equipment out there that one can purchase; whether it be from a heart transplant patient or from someone whose family member has unfortunately passed away? We would like not to lug equipment back and forth between two homes. Does anyone have an information on...

My father experiences Stage Four (D) Heart Failure, Ischemic Cardiomyopathy, Chronic Atrial Fibrilation, Pulmonary Hypertension (due to left heart disease) and CKD Stage Three. He underwent the LVAD procedure on Friday, April 26. Six days later he remains on a ventilator under heavy sedation. He has...

We thought pictures of the Wildkin Adult Lunch Bags would be helpful...Sue does not go anywhere with out one! They have two compartments...top can be used for regular carry everywhere items and the bottom holds the controller and batteries...each compartment has double zippers. They are water...

I have a HM3 and recently had some rhythm issues. Has anyone tried using an iWatch to check your HR and rhythms? If so, does it work well?

My husband was fitted with a BIVAD (2 Heartmate III) on 10/28/19 and we have had a cruise to the southern Caribbean planned for July of next year since September. We are trying to decide if we should cancel this trip or not. Has anyone cruised to the Caribbean with a VAD if so please share how you...

This may not be the forum for this question, but who better to answer my questions than those living with an LVAD and the people who care for them. My fathers LVAD (Heart Mate II) was implanted August 2015. When he had his heart attack we were literally told to take him home so he could die, as the...

Hello everyone! My husband was transplanted recently and we have a ton of changing kits. He had the heartmate 3. I know these can be expensive for folks, so I am more than willing to ship to anyone for free. We don't have a huge place so just looking for the storage back, so hopefully send out as...

My father just got the heartmate 3 and was recently sent home. He is having some back pains from mostly laying in a hospital bed for the past 3 weeks so I wanted to take him to get a massage but we are afraid that they might mess with the driveline. So ultimately, my question is has anyone gotten a...

My father got the HeartMate 3 some month ago. For we have no shop in Germany to buy according shirts and my father dont`t want to order a LVAD shirt online, I want to sew him an appropriate shirt. I would like to surprise him, thus I cannot measure the exact sizes of the batteries and the controller...

--Invitation to Participate-- We would like to better understand the experience of providing care to a family member or friend with an LVAD. If you are a caregiver of someone with a LVAD, we invite you to copy paste on the following link to see if you are eligible to participate in our study. https...

My husband has end stage heart failure and has the option to have an LVAD. As his caregiver, I am trying to find information on how well a person diagnosed with mild Alzheimers/dementia would be able to function with an LVAD, especially as his cognitive skills declined. We have talked about what we...

Hello, I lost my sister last month and I have her case of Driveline Management kits. I am selling the case for $200.00 plus shipping and Thoratec battery pack and wall unit for $200.00 plus shipping. if anyone is interested you can email me @ maxine66@verizon.net.

My husband and I have a motorhome and would like to resume travelling. Since we enjoy state and federal parks which often have no electric hookups we will have problems with charging batteries and using the mobile power unit. There must be others out there who can help us with an answer to this...

Hello, we are new to the VAD community. My husband received his VAD (Heartmate III pump) on August 5th. We live in a small town located 5 miles away from a much larger city, and 24 different home health care agencies refused to provide home health care services (blood draws for lab work) because we...

Link to Article about Data Recorder from Vienna: https://zmpbmt.meduniwien.ac.at/wissenschaft-forschung/cardiovascular-dynamics-artificial-organs/projects/vad-monitoring/ Link to Belly Band: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07C24WY1D/?coliid=I1TNYOCUGLDJA2&colid=2E8W66B2JHK9W&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it...

Hello A dear friend of mine has just received and HVAD and will be coming home from hospital within a week. Some ladies and I are working on moving her bedroom downstairs and wanted to setup an area to store all the bandages, equipment and items needed for driveline management. What has been the...