Physicians at Washington, D.C.-based MedStar Washington Hospital Center have completed the 300th implant of the HeartMate 3 left ventricular assist device, which treats patients with advanced heart failure, making it one of the first four LVAD programs nationwide to do so, MedStar said Nov. 30.
"Over the last two decades, LVADs have revolutionized the way we treat patients with stage D heart failure. With a modern technological design that includes full magnetic levitation of the impeller, this pump represents the best LVAD our field has ever seen," said Ezequiel Molina, MD, surgical director of the advanced heart failure program at the hospital center. "The HeartMate 3 device is a small, more portable and quieter LVAD than previous generations. Patients enjoy longer survival, experience fewer complications, and return to a fairly active lifestyle. And that is our goal — to improve the quality of life of our patients."
The hospital center implants more than 80 LVAD devices annually.