Ventricular Assist Devices (VAD)
If you have severe heart failure that cannot be controlled with medicine, pacing devices, or other treatments, you may need a ventricular assist device (VAD). A VAD helps your heart pump blood to the rest of your body or to the other side of the heart. The pump is implanted in your body and is connected to machinery outside your body. You may get this device while you are on a waiting list for a heart transplant.
Notice about the HeartWare HVAD Device
Medtronic has stopped making the HeartWare HVAD due to safety concerns. OHSU will no longer implant the HeartWare HVAD. We will still be implanting other LVAD devices, and we will still care for patients who already have the HeartWare HVAD.