David’s physicians found that the virus had caused acute damage to his heart and it could not pump blood forcefully enough to sustain his vital organs. Heart failure can cause shortness of breath, buildup of excess fluid in body tissues, fatigue, impaired thinking and an increased heart rate, which often times can leave patients bedridden or dead. The annual cost for treating heart failure exceeds $38 billion annually, which includes more than $20 billion in hospital days alone.¹

With David’s heart failing rapidly, the surgeons decided to implant a temporary ventricular assist device (VAD), specifically one that would rest and recover his failing heart. The VAD is a mechanical pump that temporarily assists a weakened heart to pump blood throughout the body. VADs are inserted into the right, left or both ventricles via a slender tube and allow the heart to recover and avoid a heart transplant.

There are several types of VAD systems. Some provide support for acute heart failure, such as David’s, others are used to “bridge” patients to heart transplantation and others mechanically support patients during the final stages of life, known as destination therapy. Some VADs are placed internally and others remain outside the patient’s body. In David’s case, the external VAD provided temporary assistance while his native heart function recovered from the sudden bout of myocarditis. The range of VAD systems available enables physicians to select the VAD best designed to treat each patient’s condition.

VADs were first developed in the 1960s. The first VAD system was called a ventricular bypass because it routed blood through a spherical pump outside the body instead of through the left ventricle. This system limited patient’s movement and caused several complications, including infection.² Over the years, these devices have become smaller and more efficient. Recently there has been increased awareness on the use of VADs to recover hearts that are experiencing an acute, temporary failure rather than a chronic decline over time. To date, more than 8,000 patients worldwide have been supported with these devices for FDA-approved indications, including myocarditis.

Researchers have begun to investigate the possibility of a VAD that could be fully implantable and permanent, very much like a total replacement heart. Every year there are more than 8,000 people worldwide on the list of eligible candidates for heart transplants, but less than 4,000 will receive a transplant due to the limited number of hearts available.³

David had two VAD units implanted, one on each side of his heart, and rested in the hospital for several days after the surgery. Although he was still either asleep or sedated, his body was regaining strength daily and his other organs were well nourished because of the VAD's assistance to his heart. Allowed to rest, the native heart can recover from acute heart failure, resume normal function and the VAD can be removed, returning the patient to his or her normal life.

David was able to avoid having transplant surgery because the VAD maintained his organs and allowed his heart the rest it needed to recover. After physicians determined that David’s heart had regained its strength, they took him off the sedation medication, and for the first time in several weeks, David woke up, and then the VAD was removed.

Desperate to return home, David worked hard in physical therapy and went for walks whenever he could. David could feel his strength coming back more and more every day. “As someone who hadn’t been sick since I was 6 years old, I was working to just get back to my normal life.” After several weeks of recovery, David was able to go back to work and resumed his life. “Now I’m looking forward to at least another 46 years of healthy living,” said David.