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The Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD) Program at St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital, home of the Texas Heart Institute, is one of the most experienced, successful programs in the world. Our surgeons have performed more than 828 LVAD procedures. The key to the program’s success is an experienced, highly skilled team that includes surgeons, cardiologists, LVAD coordinators, staff nurses, operating room personnel, social workers, dieticians, rehabilitation specialists, and many other professionals.
MILESTONES
1975
First study funded buy the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of an implantable left ventricular assist device (LVAD) for post-cardiotomy support
1978
First bridge-to-transplant with an LVAD
1988
First implantable continuous flow LVAD implanted – The Hemopump developed at the Texas Heart Institute
1991
First patient in the world left the hospital with an electric, portable, battery-powered LVAD
1994
FDA approval to use the HeartMate® pneumatic LVAD as a bridge to transplantation (BTT), a treatment option for patients suffering from advanced-stage heart failure
1996
FDA approval to use the HeartMate® vented electric as a bridge to transplantation (BTT)
2000
First site for clinical trials of the Jarvik 2000, a miniature, axial flow left ventricular assist device
2001
Completed REMATCH study, which compared long-term implantation of the HeartMate® VE electric LVAD to conventional medical therapy for heart failure
2002
HeartMate® VE electric LVAD approved for destination therapy
2003
First implantation of the clinical HeartMate® II LVAD; currently the most widely used continuous flow LVAD in the world.
2004
First United States patient to receive HeartMate® II LVAD surpasses one year of survival with the device
2008
HeartMate® II Left Ventricular Assist System (LVAD) received FDA approval as a bridge-to-transplant (BTT) treatment option for patients suffering from advanced-stage heart failure
2010
FDA approves HeartMate® II LVAD as Destination Therapy
Destination Therapy is a permanent option for patients with heart failure who are not candidates for heart transplantation.
BTT (Bridge to Transplantation) is a treatment option in which an LVAD is used while a patient is waiting for a heart donor
