Durable left ventricular assist device (dLVAD) therapy for advanced heart failure now achieves 5-year survival approaching 60%, with average survival similar to heart transplantation at 2 years.
Durable LVAD therapy provides survival comparable to heart transplantation at 2 years for advanced heart failure, but remains underutilized due to delayed referrals and knowledge gaps.
Despite advances in medical therapy for patients with stage C heart failure (HF), survival for patients with advanced HF is <20% at 5 years. Durable left ventricular assist device (dLVAD) support is an important treatment option for patients with advanced HF. Innovations in dLVAD technology have reduced the risk of several adverse events, including pump thrombosis, stroke, and bleeding. Average patient survival is now similar to that of heart transplantation at 2 years, with 5-year dLVAD survival now approaching 60%. Unfortunately, greater adoption of dLVAD therapy has not been realized due to delayed referral of patients to advanced HF centers, insufficient clinician knowledge of contemporary dLVAD outcomes (including gains in quality of life), and deprioritization of patients with dLVAD support waiting for heart transplantation. Despite these challenges, novel devices are on the horizon of clinical investigation, offering smaller size, permitting less invasive surgical implantation, and eliminating the percutaneous lead for power supply.
Tedford et al. (Mon,) conducted a review in advanced heart failure. Durable left ventricular assist device (dLVAD) was evaluated. Durable left ventricular assist device (dLVAD) therapy for advanced heart failure now achieves 5-year survival approaching 60%, with average survival similar to heart transplantation at 2 years.