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Mount Sinai Heart is one of the few academic centers in the United States implanting the newest generation of ventricular assist devices.
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Advances in CareVentricular Assist Devices Saving LivesAs the United States' population ages, the incidence of heart failure will continue to grow, and heart transplantation will be unable to keep up with demand. The number of heart transplants performed yearly has not increased in decades. Demand for heart donors far exceeds the supply. Ventricular assist devices (VADs) help fill the gap. "Heart transplantation, as great as it is, is not going to be an option for everyone," says Sean P. Pinney, MD, Assistant Professor of Cardiology and Director of the Advanced Heart Failure Program. "There is an overwhelming demand for newer technologies." VADs, miniature blood pumps designed to support an ailing heart, can buy patients time until a heart donor becomes available, or allow a weakened heart to rest. But more doctors are seeing VADs as a permanent solution. "As these devices get smaller, as they get easier to implant, as they last longer, and as people are able to adjust to living with them, they are going to provide a new tool to extend life," says Dr. Pinney. A new option available at Mount Sinai Heart is the third-generation VentrAssist. This left ventricular heart assist device weighs only 10 ounces and measures just 2.5 inches in diameter, but it can pump up to 2.5 gallons of blood every minute. Studies suggest that VADs combined with traditional heart failure medications can help heart cells recover. Mechanical support may do more than just give a boost to a sluggish heart. During heart failure, the heart changes in molecular, cellular, biochemical, and structural ways. For some, the degree of recovery has been good enough to allow removal of the pump and prevent the need for a heart transplant. "In 2008, the number of VADs we implanted was more than double the number of heart transplants we performed," says Dr. Pinney. "We expect the number of VADs we place to continue to grow. Mount Sinai is one of the few heart centers implanting the new devices now in clinical trials. It's very exciting to be part of something that is really paying off."
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