VAD(Ventricular Assist Device)

About the VAD

The device is Abiomed’s BVS 5000, a biventricular support system. It’s the only device approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for patients with potentially reversible heart failure and is the most widely used ventricular assist device in the world. University Hospital is one of only 500 hospitals in the nation equipped with the life-saving device.

The VAD includes a pneumatic drive console that operates one or two blood pumps independently, providing support to one or both ventricles of the heart. The system automatically adjusts beat rates and flows. Surgically installed, the VAD temporarily corrects or compensates for the failure of the heart muscles to pump sufficient blood –a failure that accounts for nearly half of all heart-related deaths.