Heart pumps work as 'bridge to transplant'

To support a failing heart, there are two general types of ventricular assist devices, long-term and short-term. Two cardiac surgeons - along with four other cardiologists - at St. Paul's Hospital perform all implantations of long-term devices in the province, under the B.C. Acute Heart Failure Program. The devices, which are “essentially mechanical heart pumps,” can be used in patients with advanced heart failure, whether from a congenital defect in children or from an infection, heart disease or artery blockages in older people. Read full story here.