Nursing management and rehabilitation of chronic ventricular assist device (VAD) patients

With the increasing number of heart transplants performed annually and the number of available organs decreasing, more patients are being bridged to transplant by mechanical circulatory support (MCS) systems during their wait for a donor organ. The duration of assistance with MCS has also increased due to this shortage of donor organs. The Artificial Heart Program at the University of Pittsburgh, recognizing this changing population, has shifted the focus of care from acute support to chronic support of VAD patients. Providing care directed at long-term support has promoted rehabilitation and helped to improve the overall bridge experience. At the University of Pittsburgh, 34 patients were implanted with MCS devices as a bridge to transplant between June 1987 and September 1992 (Figure 1). Thirteen of these patients were supported for over 60 days. Of these, three were eventually discharged to an out-of-hospital facility six blocks from the medical center. Eleven of the 13 patients supported over 60 days were discharged following successful orthotopic cardiac transplantation. In response to this increasing duration of support in the bridge to transplant patient, the role of the nurse has changed significantly. Nursing care initially focused on acute physiologic monitoring procedures that are restricted to an intensive care setting. Today the role of the MCS nurse encompasses a much broader area including medical care, education, and patient rehabilitation. It is important to realize that these aspects of care begin when a patient is identified as a MCS candidate and continue throughout the acute postoperative phase into the chronic phase of recovery.