New Pharmaceutical Treatment Provides Hope for Ventricular Assist Device Patients

For patients who receive left ventricular assist device implants there is no assurance that the device will work enough for them to have a high quality of life. New research has shown a potential treatment which could make a significant improvement in this area.

John Gorcsan III, MD, from UPMC, discussed the research done in this field during the annual scientific sessions of the American Heart Association in New Orleans. The Restage HF trial, which Gorcsan said "wasn't big in numbers. It was big in impact." With patients who could be considered "end stage," he said the impact the treatment showed gave providers hope that they could help patients in ways not considered possible before.