Taking a back seat: support and self-preservation in close relatives of patients with left ventricular assist device

Support from close relatives potentially benefits patients, family, healthcare providers, and society in general. Our study highlighted the importance of supporting the close relatives supporting the patient and we have suggested some modifiable factors to enable social support and ease transitions in the illness trajectory. We suggest that awareness of social support systems might be beneficial in comprehensive care planning for LVAD patients and their close relatives.