Ventricular Assist Devices (VADs) are used to treat patients with severe heart failure. They are surgically attached to a patient's own heart and run by batteries, where they simulate the work of the left ventricle—the large, muscular chamber of the heart that pumps blood out of the body—to help maintain the pumping ability of a heart that can't effectively function on its own. The devices are temporary for some and permanent for others; they may be used until a heart transplant is available, or to support the patient's heart indefinitely.

The MicroMed DeBakey VAD® is a miniature VAD about one-tenth the size of other comparable devices currently available. Designed for end-stage heart failure patients who can no longer survive with their heart's reduced function, it is only the size of a "C" cell battery, is silent, weighs less than four ounces and was designed by NASA for long-term use.

The surgeons at Twin Cities Heart and Lung are proud to be able to offer this exciting new technology to appropriate heart disease patients. Click here to learn more about teh MicroMed DeBakey VAD®.