Ventricular assist device (VAD), in general, may be any device designed to be used as a mechanical pump to aid in the movement of blood in people with weakened and/or diseased hearts. It is used to take blood from the ventricles, the lower chambers of the heart, throughout the body and vital organs. There are two common devices one for the left and the other for the right ventricles. Though the LVAD is used more frequently since it pumps blood to the aorta, the RVAD is often used for a short time during surgery and after because it helps pump blood to the pulmonary artery into the lungs to maintain oxygenation to the blood. There is also a less frequently utilized device, the biventricular device or BiVAD, which replaces both ventricles when the heart is incapable of pumping blood without the support of both ventricles. On some occasions the BiVAD may be replaced with a total artificial heart. BiVAD
Initially, a candidate for the use of a VAD was a patient who no longer responded to any of the traditional pharmacological or surgical options for the treatment of heart disease. Therefore, those who were in critical need of a heart transplant would be
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If there is a driveline emerging from the abdomen, the paramedic should not cut, bend, or twist it since this is the direct connection to the power source to the pump. Ther pareamedic should begin his/her assessment with the routine steps of assessment; however, when the paramedic gets to step C, the process will change. Though some VAD’s produce a pulsating flow of blood throughout the body, a larger number of devices use a continuing flow creating a non-pulsating continuous flow. Therefore, these patients will not have a pulse when assessed in the conventional manner. Also, attempting to take a blood pressure reading with a manual cuff does not produce an audible
Transcatheter aortic valve replacement or TAVR is the latest technology used principally for the treatment of aortic stenosis, a condition in which one of the major valves of the heart, the aortic valve, becomes tight and stiff, usually as a result of aging (3). Since many patients who need aortic valve replacement for aortic stenosis are too sick to undergo major valve replacement surgery, they are unable to get the treatment they need. With the transcatheter aortic valve, this issue is bypassed because this valve can be implanted in the heart by accessing the patient’s heart through an artery in the groin. The valve can be inserted through a wire that can be pushed to the heart, and the old valve is simply pushed to the side when the new valve is implanted. This technology has been in use in the US with Edwards’ Sapiens valve since 2011 and has saved the lives of many patients with aortic stenosis (4).
Dr. Murray, the chief resident who arrived around 8:00pm, charted Lewis’ heart rate as normal and noteds a probable ileus; however, nursing documentation at the same time recorded a heart rate of 126 beats per minute (Monk, 2002). Subsequent heart rates at midnight and 4:00am arewere charted as 142 and 140 beats per minute respectively without documented intervention (Monk, 2002 ). On Monday morning Lewis noted that his pain suddenly stopped after being very constant and staff charted that they were unable to get a blood pressure recording in either arm or leg from 8:30-10:15am despite trying multiple machines (Monk, 2002; Solidline Media, 2010).
Table1: The type of VSD and additional cardiac anomalies, pulmonary artery hypertension (PAH), the number and age of the surgery in the studied patients.
Technology is advancing greatly every day and whether we like it or not, it is here to stay, so we need to use it to our advantage. Technology is especially helpful in health care as healthcare is very fast pace and stressful. IV smart pumps were introduced years ago and have been very successful in many facilities across the country. Although there are many “brands” of IV smart pumps, they are all generally the same and have at least one thing in common; they decrease the workload of healthcare providers. With anything there are benefits, as well as cons of using these pumps which we will discuss.
“60% of people live 10 years after a heart transplant” (www.heartfoundation.org). The process of a heart transplant is crucial because several patients are consulted to see who needs the heart most. The patients provided, which are five of them, each gave a brief biographical and psychological reports. Examining each one carefully, is important, yet difficult to come to a conclusion.Furthermore, each patient demonstrates high hopes in their family of in community. However no medical records have been provided to see if any patient has another organ problem, nor do all the patients have school records.
Normally, the aortic valve should remained closed in a properly functioning LVAD. Given the continuous closure state, the aortic valve leaflets can become fused with resultant stenosis. In patients who receive an LVAD for bridge to transplantation or final destination therapy, the resultant stenosis is not of clinical concern; however, for patients who are utilizing an LVAD for myocardial recovery, the degree of stenosis can cause further potential problems in which patient's may not be able to undergo explantation. Preimplantantion aoritic insufficiency is quite problematic in patient's who receive LVAD. The backflow of blood into the left ventricular chamber decreases forward systemic flow; in addition, aortic insufficiency worsens during the course of LVAD
... patients with heart failure: Impact on patients. American Journal of Critical Care, 20(6), 431-442.
Pacemakers are usually implanted on the right collar bone with one or two lead wires of the said pacemakers connected to the walls of the heart cavities. Based on the number of leads originating from the pacemaker, these devices can be broadly categorized as single chambered pacers and dual chamber pacers.
When debating who will receive a heart transplant there is a list of criteria that must be met before the person becomes eligible to receive a transplant. The United Nation for Organ Transplant or UNO decides where each organ will go. UNO will first look at who is the sickest and without the heart transplant will pass away first. ( Trezpaz,DiMartni,2000). The patient that will receive the heart also has to be compatible with the person who had the heart. What this means is that they look at blood type, height, weight, among other medical factor to make sure that the person who receive the heart will not reject it( Uno,2015). Distance from the organ transplant center also plays a factor in who will receive the organ, Hearts can only be preserved
Machines will be used to monitor your blood pressure, heart rate, breathing rate, and blood oxygen level during the procedure.
This reflection of vital signs will go into discussion about the strengths and weaknesses of each vital sign and the importance of each of them. Vital signs should be assessed many different times such as on admission to a health care facility, before and after something substantial has happened to the patient such as surgery and so forth (ref inter). I learned to assess blood pressure (BP), pulse (P), temperature (T) and respiration (R) and I will reflect and discuss which aspects were more difficult and ways to improve on them. While pulse, respiration and temperature were fairly easy to become skilled at, it was blood pressure which was a bit more difficult to understand.
Imagine waiting in a hospital room for days, weeks, even months until the doctor comes in and informs you that they finally have a heart that they can use in your heart transplant. While it is difficult to obtain the organs needed in the procedure, the fact that organ transplantation is possible is a luxury in and of itself. The possibility that a piece of you can be removed and replaced by another is astonishing. This discovery of organ transplantation has affected and aided so many people since 1954 after the first successful kidney transplant and will continue to save lives in the future.
Methods: Sixteen heart transplant and heart failure patients, aged eight to seventeen years, and their parents were recruited from a heart transplant clinic located in a large children’s hospital in the
Later in the 20th century, the technology as well as the methods have improved to proceed with such organ donations and transplants. Even though technology has proven to be far more efficient since the 1960’s; the advancement of technology first struggle to achieve a successful transplant to later keeping the heart functional while the patient is deceased, considering this procedure unethical early in it’s time (Reynolds). Still the United States and other countries later resumed this procedure while the technology continue to advance. This is why Organ donation should not be implemented into our society. In 1968, American Physician Starzl attempted to achieve a successful kidney transplant, but failed five times. The first patient bled to death, and the other four died the same day, or right after the surgery. For the cause of these failed procedures, it was argued that these specific types of surgeries should not be practiced. Since then there has been over 200,000 failed kidney transplants, killing thousands (understanding). Considering this procedure as
To the committee would have considered to give the heart to Mr X only as he is near death and he had been on the list for a long time than Ms Y who just came in. They should look for another heart for Ms Y as the medication can sustain her for quite some time.