title: Ventricular assistance to bridge to transplantation.
abstract: In 2001, 2202 heart transplants were performed in the United States, leaving 4137 patients waiting who suffer from 30% annual mortality. Status I, Class IV heart failure patients have a 66% 1-year mortality rate and a survival approximating our worst cancers. Left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) first successfully bridged a patient to transplantation in 1978. LVADs have since functioned primarily thus, minimizing end-organ damage and providing rehabilitation potential for individuals awaiting transplantation. In this role, their effectiveness is well-established: they gain time for patients awaiting donors, preserve end-organ function, and provide potential for a high quality of life in and out of the hospital. This success has been the result of numerous advances in VAD technology, which this article discusses.
authors.affiliation: Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA. khera001@mc.duke.edu
authors.forename: Aftab R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Kherani
authors.forename: Mehmet C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Oz
mesh_terms: D004867:Equipment Design; D004869:Equipment Safety; D005260:Female; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy*; D016027:Heart Transplantation; D006353:Heart-Assist Devices; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D018579:Patient Selection; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D018487:Ventricular Dysfunction, Left / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy*; D014850:Waiting Lists