Several patients with something in common converged on a recent celebration on the Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center campus.
The event brought together patients living with left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) and their family members. An LVAD takes the place of a person’s left ventricle and helps the heart pump oxygen-rich blood throughout the body.
Those attending the LVAD Celebration on April 27 included both patients who have received the device as a “bridge to transplant” as they await a human heart and those for whom it is a “destination therapy.”
Currently, the Medical Center has 80 active LVAD patients.