Longitudinal change in quality of life and impact on survival after left ventricular assist device implantation

2013 ACCF/AHA Guideline for the Management of Heart Failure

“…Echocardiography can reveal subclinical HF and predict risk of subsequent events. [291][292][293][294][295] Use of echocardiograms in patients with suspected HF improves disease identification and provision of appropriate medical care. 296 Echocardiographic evaluation should address whether LVEF is reduced, LV structure is abnormal, and other structural abnormalities are present that could account for the clinical presentation.…”

Choices for Patients “Without a Choice”

“…Commonly, patients and their loved ones report gratitude for improvement in their heart failure-associated symptom burden, and these results are consistent with reported outcomes for patients discharged from the hospital after LVAD implantation. [6][7][8]18 Resilience and reassessment of expectations were similarly reported in interviews of spouses who care for loved ones after DT. 19 To this end, it is recommended that post-DT care be improved by developing patient support systems, by systematizing education for providers within local communities, and by developing mechanisms to expand respite care for caregivers.…”

“…Prior studies of DT have explored survival benefits, 4,17 assessed improvements in symptom burden and quality of life, [6][7][8]18 and analyzed the adjustment of spouses as caregivers after DT implantation. 19 However, the current study is, to our knowledge, the first qualitative approach to capturing patients' experiences and perspectives relating to life after implantation of LVAD as DT.…”

“…3,4 Nevertheless, although morbidity and mortality have improved with continuous-flow LVADs, adverse events such as stroke, bleeding, and infection still occur and can markedly decrease patients' quality of life. [5][6][7][8] Optimal outcomes require careful patient selection and an appreciation of the potential benefits and burdens of DT, especially in the setting of psychosocial concerns. The call for patient-centered heart failure is cogent in recent scientific statements that report a need for clinicians to work expertly with patients to tease out factors relevant to patients in terms of survival, quality of life, and costs.…”

Acoustic System of Determining the Instantaneous Volume of the Blood Part of the Ventricular Assist Device POLVAD-EXT

“…Finding a solution of this problem would allow an automatic adjustment of the parameters of the heart support process in terms of actual hemodynamic condition of the patient. The pulsatile-type heart support devices are mostly used in short and medium-term treatments where the heart muscle may be regenerated, making the heart transplant procedure superfluous (Young, 2001; Grady et al, 2004). In that case matching the heart support process to the actual state of the patient can vastly improve the regeneration of the heart muscle, and even allow treatment process in home conditions.…”