–LVAD deactivation is not euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide. Left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) are used increasingly as destination therapy instead of as a temporary bridge until a donor heart becomes available for transplantation. Now patients, their families, and their caregivers are forced to confront the extremely difficult question of when and how to turn off…
Big Mismatch In Risk Perception Between Heart Failure Patients and Their Physicians
August 17, 2017 by 4 Comments
There’s a big discrepancy between the way patients with “advanced” heart failure view themselves and the way their doctors view them, a new study published in JACC: Heart Failure shows. In a cohort of 161 ambulatory patients with advanced heart failure, physicians categorized 111 patients (69%) as being at high risk for urgent transplant, LVAD,…
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