Patient and family resources
The HeartMate 3™ VAD system is made up of:
- an implantable heart pump, placed inside the body
- a driveline (a small tube) that passes through the skin of the abdomen and connects the heart pump to the controller
- a system controller (small computer) outside of the body that controls the pump
- an external power source (batteries or wall power) outside of the body.
Watch this video for a closer look at each piece of the system.
Video: System Overview
The driveline is your lifeline. It is important to learn how to keep the driveline and exit site clean and safe.
Video: Managing Your Driveline
Abbott Northwestern VAD Driveline Dressing Supplies
Driveline Dressing Supply Companies
Video: Daily Driveline Dressing
Video: Weekly Driveline Dressing
Video: Modified Driveline Dressing
It is important to fill out your log sheet every day.
Once you have recovered from your surgery and are ready, your health care team will give you clearance to travel. Review the links below for tips on safe travel with a VAD.
Video: Traveling
Having a plan in place for a power outage is very important. Your health care team has told your local power company that you have life-saving medical equipment in your home. Remember, your system controller has a back-up battery that will power your pump for 15 minutes while you safely switch to battery power. Here are tips to help in a power outage.
- Have a flashlight near your bed.
- Always have a set of fully-charged batteries available.
- Know where the closest fire department, police station or hospital is for emergency charging of batteries.
Watch this video to see what the alarms on the system controller will look like during a power outage.
Video: Power Outage
Warfarin is important to help keep blood from clotting inside the VAD. Learn how to manage your diet while taking warfarin.
Eating a healthful diet is an important part of managing heart failure. When you eat foods low in sodium, your heart won’t have to work as hard to pump blood. Learn how a diet low in sodium can improve your heart health.
VAD therapy requires a lifestyle change that includes wearing equipment on the outside of your body 24/7. There is special clothing made for people who have a VAD. This list has been created by people who have a VAD and found these products helpful. The VAD team can only provide wearable VAD gear from the device company. These additional options would need to be purchased directly by you or your family.
A stroke happens when blood and oxygen flow to the brain is stopped or interrupted due to a ruptured or blocked blood vessel. This can cause damage to the brain. Stroke can be a complication of VAD therapy. It is important to know the signs and symptoms of a stroke to act quickly to receive care.
Your VAD team will give you clearance to shower when the driveline exit site has healed. At the time of clearance, the team will give you a shower bag to protect your system controller and batteries. It is extremely important to keep the driveline exit site dry while showering. This will help prevent infection. Use a plastic cover over your driveline dressing to prevent it from getting wet. If the dressing gets wet during your shower, immediately change the dressing.
Important
- Do not expose the system controller or batteries to water.
- Do not submerge the shower bag in water.
- Do not shower while connected to the mobile power unit (MPU).
- The anchor does not need to be covered during a shower. Use the aqua guard (provided by your dressing supply company) to cover the driveline exit site and dressing.
Equipment
The HeartMate 3 system controller is a small computer that runs the VAD. Watch these videos to learn about the alarms and on-screen messages.
- Video: System Controller
- Video: System Controller Buttons
- Video: System Controller Self-test
The mobile power unit (MPU) is the electrical (wall) power source for the HeartMate 3 VAD. It is recommended that you are on wall power anytime you are sleeping. Do not use an adapter, power strip or an outlet attached to a switch. Watch this video to learn about the MPU.
Video Link: Mobile Power Unit (MPU)
The battery charger will charge the HeartMate 3 VAD batteries. It can charge 4 batteries at a time. Do not use an adapter, power strip or an outlet attached to a switch. Watch this video to learn about the battery charger.
Video: Battery Charger
Please note: The Abbott Northwestern Hospital VAD team will give you new batteries every 2 to 2 1/2 years to make sure the batteries do not expire.
The HeartMate 3 VAD can run on either wall power (for sleeping) or batteries (to allow for you to be up and moving). When changing the HeartMate 3 system power, it is very important to change one power cable at a time. Watch this video to see a demonstration of changing from batteries to the MPU and from batteries to batteries.
Video: Changing Power Sources
The HeartMate 3 VAD has multiple alarms that alert you to changes in the system. Watch this video to see a demonstration of the different types of alarms you may encounter.
Video Link: Alarms and troubleshooting
Calibration helps keep the battery power gauge accurate. During calibration, the charger drains the battery of all electrical energy and then recharges it. Battery calibration can take up to 12 hours. Only one battery can be calibrated at a time. While calibrating one battery, the charger can charge three batteries as usual.
*The battery charger will prompt you to calibrate the batteries between 9 to 12 months after your VAD implant (70 use cycles). It is important to learn about battery calibration.
Video: Battery Calibration
Batteries in the mobile power unit (MPU) need to be changed every 6 months. It requires 3 “AA” batteries. It is important to learn about changing batteries in the MPU.
Video: Battery Calibration
In order to keep the controller in your back-up bag ready for use, it needs to be charged every 6 months. It is important to learn how to charge this back-up battery.