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Alexandra L. Family Member

LVAD & BRAIN INJURY

Thu, 04/07/2016 - 11:48AM
My dad suffered an anoxic brain injury post cardiac arrest in July 2014 at the age of 57. Following these events, my dad received an LVAD. At almost 2 years later he remains hospitalized as the discharge process is still a challenge. I was wondering if anyone knows anyone of or has experience with LVADs in persons with brain injuries. Any input would be greatly appreciated :) #walktoyourownbeat #teamlevine <3 <3 <3
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lee Y.

Mon, 04/18/2016 - 5:17AM
Hello Not quite the same as your dad, but I'm 57 as well, had Lvad for about 14 months now, getting on well with it, had few other side effects , which meant going into hospital a couple of times. But 1 month ago I had a brain aneurism , out of the blue , in addenbrookes in uk, for about 3 weeks, now at home trying to get over it, hope your dad gets better!
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Alexandra L.

Sun, 05/01/2016 - 6:33PM
Hi! Thank you for sharing your experience with me! I'm so sorry to hear about your complications and brain aneurism. I can't imagine how frightening that must have been but congratulations on overcoming those bumps in the road and getting back home! Wishing you a speedy recovery!
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Walter A.

Wed, 04/27/2016 - 9:00PM
Received my LVAD in March. Home and doing relatively well. Still issue with blood viscosity requiring Coumadin, plavix and aspirin in large doses. Reason I mention, is my doctors have mentioned brain issues as possible side effect. Drs. Rame and Wald, both the with Transplant and Mechanical Support Device area of the Cardio Vascular Institute at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP) have knowledge of such things. This area has apparently produced working papers on brain injuries as a side effect to VAD implantation. The VAD Support Group at HUP have their own e-mail communication available through the Penn Medicine web site. Hope this little tid bit helps.
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Alexandra L.

Sun, 05/01/2016 - 6:40PM
Hi there! Congratulations on getting your LVAD and getting back home! I'm sorry to hear about the issues with blood viscosity. My dad has experienced similar issues requiring daily blood work. Thank you so very much for sharing Drs. Rame and Wald's knowledge and research on brain injuries as a side effect to VAD implantation! Your response was very helpful, as generally an anoxic brain injury is not degenerative, yet my dad's mental status has become worse over time. That being said, it would be really helpful and interesting to explore the mentioned working papers. I will definitely reach out to them via email! Wishing you a speedy recovery!!
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Annon M.

Thu, 04/28/2016 - 5:45AM
I wouldn't have pushed my soul mate so much to get this device had I known the complications and price to be paid by us...
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Alexandra L.

Sun, 05/01/2016 - 7:21PM
it is awesome to be a part of such amazing medicine but i can definitely sympathize with you on feeling uneducated or unprepared. best of luck !
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Jessica G.

Thu, 12/14/2017 - 7:25PM
My father had an lvad placed seven months ago. He recently passed out resulting in subderal hemmorrage and had had two brain surgeries. We suspect that he may have had the brain bleed before the fall. He is now fighting for his life, and we are concerned that we are torturing him by having so many procedures in an attempt to get well due to so many cases of further bleeding and complications with an lvad.
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Jessica G.

Thu, 12/14/2017 - 7:25PM
My father had an lvad placed seven months ago. He recently passed out resulting in subderal hemmorrage and had had two brain surgeries. We suspect that he may have had the brain bleed before the fall. He is now fighting for his life, and we are concerned that we are torturing him by having so many procedures in an attempt to get well due to so many cases of further bleeding and complications with an lvad.
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Jessica G.

Thu, 12/14/2017 - 7:25PM
My father had an lvad placed seven months ago. He recently passed out resulting in subderal hemmorrage and had had two brain surgeries. We suspect that he may have had the brain bleed before the fall. He is now fighting for his life, and we are concerned that we are torturing him by having so many procedures in an attempt to get well due to so many cases of further bleeding and complications with an lvad.
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Alexandra L.

Thu, 02/01/2018 - 3:16PM
Hi there! I’m so sorry to hear about your dads experience. I can imagine feeling uncertain if countless tests or procedures are necessary, but your dad is very lucky to have such a strong advocate like you! I hope all is better!
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ANDREEA-ALEXANDRA A.

Fri, 06/25/2021 - 9:42PM

Hi,

My name is Alexandra I'm 31 and I had my Lvad implant in october 2020.After the surgery I started to have vision and hearing problems,eyes are not focusing,very bad headaches,pressure in the ears in the head,I has one episode of double vision,and after that I felt the pressure was released a little bit,the headaches are gone,but still have pressure in the ears,and the vision is not normal,feels like I am detached from reality ,like I'm in a dream state.I've done CT head,been to ENT,oftalmologyst,orthoptyst,optician, 3 neurologists,pshicologyst,but no one can find the cause.Did anyone experienced something like this? I'm desperate,it's been 8 months since I feel rubish and I don't know what to do.