Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD) provides hope for severe congestive heart failure patients                                                                                                             

Delray Beach, Fla. (May 20, 2015) — Delray Medical Center is the first hospital in Palm Beach County to offer the breakthrough heart therapy, LVAD implantation, as a treatment option for patients suffering from advanced stages of heart failure.
 
Advanced heart failure is a progressive disorder. While the early stages can sometimes be managed with medicines and lifestyle changes, which help reduce symptoms, eventually an advanced stage of heart failure may lead to the need for a heart transplant or ventricular assist device (VAD). 

“Currently, there are only four hospitals in South Florida that have this program available for patients,” said Mark Bryan, CEO. “Having LVAD and other innovative therapies at Delray Medical Center gives our heart patients a better chance of living a longer and healthier life.”

The most common type of VAD is a left ventricular assist device (LVAD). An LVAD is a blood pumping device that is designed to assist the left side of the heart to pump blood throughout the body when it is too weak to work efficiently on its own. 

“With today’s improved LVADs, patients are living much longer than they did before,” added Dr. Brian Bethea, lead VAD surgeon at DMC and the Regional Medical Director of Cardiovascular Surgery for Tenet’s Florida Region. “Today’s data shows that at least 85 percent of LVAD recipients are still alive one year after implantation.” 

The Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant cardiologists and VAD surgeons at Delray Medical Center determine whether a patient is a candidate for the LVAD program based on the patient’s specific heart disease, severity of symptoms and other medical conditions the patient may have.

To learn more or to determine if you are a candidate, please call our VAD team at 1-844-MYLVADS.