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Cardiac transplantation is an accepted form of therapy for end staged cardiac failure.
From 40,000 to 70,000 American cardiovascular patients under age 65 could benefit from a heart transplant each year, but a severe and continuing donor organ shortage has resulted in fewer than 2,400 patients actually receiving transplanted hearts. Many patients die while waiting for a suitable donor organ to become available, and as the number of patients with end staged cardiac failure increases, the need for alternative treatment options becomes even more acute. Mechanical support of the failing heart has become a means to support the transplant candidate who is clinically deteriorating while waiting for a suitable donor organ. The Novacor LVAS is an electromechanically driven pump, about the size of the human heart that is implanted below the left rectus muscle in the abdominal wall. This device connects to the patient's left ventricle, the hearts main pumping chamber, and provides circulatory support by taking over most of the workload of the failing heart.