Heart Patients Celebrate Another Holiday with Family and the Jewish Hospital VAD Team - Archived

 

For individuals with heart failure, the holidays may often bring the best gift: another year to celebrate life with family and friends.  Approximately 50 people with implanted Ventricular Heart Devices (VADs), a blood pump that assists the heart in pumping blood through the body in patients with congestive heart failure, will be joined by their families and the Jewish Hospital VAD care team for a holiday luncheon to celebrate another year of life.

 

For some individuals, Left Ventricular Heart Devices (LVADs) are used to support patients while waiting for a transplant called “Bridge to Transplant.”  In those patients not eligible for transplants, it is used as permanent support or “Destination Therapy.” Approximately 5.7 million Americans suffer from heart failure, and 550,000 new cases are diagnosed each year. About 250,000 die from heart failure annually.  Most patients with VADs will have more energy than before the implant. For many, resuming daily activities they previously enjoyed, like visiting family and friends or shopping, which is a significant achievement in their battle against heart failure.

 

Jewish Hospital is as an approved facility to use ventricular assist devices as permanent support for patients with severe heart failure, which is known as “Destination Therapy.” Destination Therapy is used when a patient has severe heart failure but is not a candidate for transplantation.

 

What:             Holiday Celebration for Patients living with Ventricular Heart Devices (VADs) and their Families

 

When:            Friday, December 20, 2013
                     12 – 2 p.m.

 

Where:          Jewish Hospital’s Rudd Heart & Lung Building
                  Conference Center (CC floor)
                  201 Abraham Flexner Way,
                  Louisville, KY

                     

Opportunities:

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  • Local heart patients and their families celebrating the holiday
  • Jewish Hospital VAD team members interacting with patients and families
  • Interviews available

 

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