LVAD patients can travel.
- Make travel plans with an LVAD center close to where you are traveling
- Ask your center to help connect you with the center
- Ask how you can keep the patient safe when you travel
In a health emergency, Emergency Medical Services (EMS) must know the patient has an LVAD. Ask your LVAD center if they tell local EMS about the patient’s LVAD or if you should.
Understand the benefits and risks of LVAD.
- During recovery from LVAD surgery, the patient might be removed from the active transplant waitlist.
- The patient’s quality of life will be different. They might:
- Have more energy and stamina
- Worry less about major heart failure
- Feel less stress
- The patient will be connected to a controller and battery pack 24 hours a day.
- Help them choose accessory options to carry the controller and batteries
- Save receipt and submit them when the patient does yearly taxes
- With the LVAD device, the patient:
- Will have limited movement
- Might have to change sleeping positions
- Cannot put their body fully into water (pool, hot tub, bath, lake, etc.)
- Cannot jump or do contact sports
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This content was developed independently by AST and supported by a financial contribution from
