Ventricular Assist Device (VAD)

A VAD is a mechanical heart pump that helps your heart work better, improving your quality of life or providing temporary support until you can receive a heart transplant. If you are not eligible for a heart transplant, you may still benefit from the VAD as a destination therapy. University of Minnesota Health Heart Care has been so successful in this therapy that we are an international training site for surgical teams from other hospitals.

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The VAD consists of an implantable heart pump that is connected to your left ventricle by an inflow cannula, which moves the blood into the heart pump. The pump takes over from your left ventricle. Then the blood flows to the outflow cannula, which is connected to your aorta, enabling the blood to flow to the rest of your body. The VAD also includes a driveline that connects the pump through your skin to a small computer, an external pump source and a display module. Heart surgeons with University of Minnesota Health Heart Care implant more than 60 left ventricular assist devices each year, making it a national leader in this therapy for failing hearts and a pioneer in mechanical circulatory support (MCS) bridge-to-transplantation clinical trials.