batteries very heavy

Hi, My husband complains about how heavy the batteries are, I have also heard that the LVAD companies are in the process of coming up with smaller batteries. Is there anyone out there who can confirm this information?. This would be a blessing if the batteries can be smaller.

Cannot confirm if lighter batteries are in the works but look forward to them as the current ones are very heavy especially at the end of the day from being tired of lugging them around. For a suggestion I use the shoulder bag that came with my unit, a fitted undershirt, but have found it is easiest to use a fanny pack, aka waist bag or waist pack. The fanny pack takes the weight off the upper body and is much easier to move around with and not as tired at end of day. Mine came from Amazon but I believe you can also get them from sporting goods stores as joggers use them quite a lot when they run.

I was told by a member of my lvad team that new much smaller and lighter batteries should be ready in two years.Maybe if the manufacturer of the LVAD received a large number of e-mails the process could be speeded up. Could you draft a short memo and get out to recipients with an address to send the e-mails to? Best, Jerry

Have written to Abbott (St Jude medical is now Abbott) St Jude Medical UK Ltd Elder House Central Boulevard Blythe Valley Park Solihull B90 8AJ and had a good reply from James Watts National Sales Manager Heart Failure Division UK & Ireland. I am sorry that I don't know how to paste it or scan it, what he has basically said is that the batteries have to be product tested and also ensure all of the quality and regulatory requirements are fulfilled before they can formally launch the product to market. But your idea is really good if all the people that have LVAD's contact the company then things will happen quicker, had my LVAD check on Friday at Queen Elizabeth Birmingham going well, plus the nurse said that one of the main people from Abbott was in asking about people's comments and the nurse said the weight of the batteries.

I also had a problem with heavy batteries and neck pain. Solution for me is dedicated shirt - it split weight of battery, also you don't need to have bag, so there is no arms pain. You can find it on Heartmate shirt.