title: The ventricular assist device: An overview.
abstract: With the continued shortage of available donor organs, the need for a mechanical alternative to support increasing numbers of heart failure patients has become increasingly apparent. This article reviews the ventricular assist devices currently approved by the Food and Drug Administration, and some of the concepts surrounding ventricular assist device therapy. Common postoperative and long-term concerns are addressed, and nursing care of these complicated patients is reviewed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, The Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, The Pennsylvania State University, Hershey, Pennsylvania 17033, USA.
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Christensen
mesh_terms: D004867:Equipment Design; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000451:nursing / Q000628:therapy*; D006353:Heart-Assist Devices / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends; D006801:Humans; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D011182:Postoperative Care / Q000451:nursing*; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000503:physiopathology