Interdisciplinary team develops potentially life-saving heart pump

Left ventricular assist devices (LVAD) are artificial heart pumps used as an interim support for people with heart failure who are under consideration for a transplant but unlikely survive the wait for a donor heart.

A key feature of the new LVAD is that it can be inserted into the chest wall via laparoscopic surgery, another is that it doesn’t sit inside the heart, thereby reducing the risk of infection and blood clotting. Funded by the British Heart Foundation, the technology is said to have the potential to save and improve the quality of lives of patients worldwide.

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Dr David Adlam, Associate Professor and Interventional Cardiologist in the Department of Cardiovascular Sciences, said: “Someone who’s had a severe heart attack, for example, can deteriorate rapidly with heart pump failure and often isn’t well enough to be transferred for open-heart surgery under a general anaesthetic. What we need is a device that can be implanted through the skin using techniques commonly used in most heart attack centres so it is available when and where it's needed. For patients who only need temporary support, it can also be easily taken out when the heart has had time to recover.