End-stage heart patients are those whose hearts are irreversibly damaged and can no longer be managed by medical therapy alone. At this point, surgical options may be available with a heart transplant or heart assist devices. Unfortunately, the need for hearts for transplantation far outweighs their availability. The American Heart Association states that thousands more heart patients each year would benefit from transplantation, but do not receive it due to low availability of hearts. For patients with more severe heart failure, like congestive heart failure, implantable LVAD (left ventricular assist devices) are rapidly gaining wide acceptance as viable alternatives to conventional drug and surgical therapies.
The INTEGRIS Advanced Cardiac Care program offers heart assist devices to give end-stage heart patients the opportunity to live more complete, normal and active lives during bridge-to-transplant therapy.
