Heart Failure/Transplantation Team of Heart Vascular Stroke Institute at Samsung Medical Center reported that a patient who had received a third-generation left ventricular assist device (LVAD) at 76 years old in September 2016 had 1000 days of maintaining the device. Currently, the corresponding patient is doing well without any complication.A type of an artificial heart, LVAD is a mechanical device that pumps blood, which enters the left ventricle into the aorta and every part of the body instead of the heart. The device is used for patients who need to wait a long time for heart transplantation or those who cannot receive such a procedure.
An artificial heart is primarily for extending the life of a patient with one to two years of stable temporary maintenance. Furthermore, for an elderly patient, receiving heart transplantation is difficult; hence, maintaining an artificial heart stably at least for two years is important.
Even a patient who received second-generation artificial heart transplantation at 75 years old in 2012 has maintained the artificial heart for seven years.
Meanwhile, at Samsung Medical Center, the second- and third-generation artificial heart transplantation and minimally invasive transplantation were successfully performed for the first time in Korea. In addition, Samsung Medical Center is leading Korea’s artificial heart transplantation by performing surgery on the eldest patient in Korea, having the longest maintenance period, etc.
