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robert W. Recipient

Noisy pump

Tue, 10/17/2017 - 4:52AM
pump noise Hello I am a new lvad recipient, I had my surgery on September 19 . Everything seems to be going well except for the fact that i can hear the pump running . It is very annoying and I was wondering if anyone else has this issue?
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JEFF P.

Sun, 10/22/2017 - 4:02PM
Hello, I've had my device for one and a half years & had the same problem. I sleep with a fan on now & can only hear the whine occasionally, (I thought it was just in my head). Background noise is the only fix i got. Best of luck to ya.
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Andreas B.

Mon, 10/23/2017 - 1:20PM
Hi, i received my LVAD in January this Year & Can also hear my pump running when everything is quiet..especially when laying on the side and putting an ear on/near the shoulder. It didn't get better but i got used to 'the noise'.
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Mary E.

Mon, 10/30/2017 - 10:19AM
What do people who travel with an RV do about charging batteries and or using the mobile unit where there is no electricity available? My husband and I so enjoy state and federal park camping (vs. the commercial places with bingo and hayrides) but many of these don't have electric hookups. We've had the Heartmate 3 since June and everything seems to be stable in our new normal state and are planning some trips but nobody at our center seems to know how we can manage this sort of travel. Has anyone personally contacted the company to see if converters or inverters can be used? If so how do I get in touch with St. Jude, who I think owns what used to be Thoratec?
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Ivan M.

Mon, 12/05/2022 - 4:21PM

I live in Ireland and spent the summer in Vancouver with my son and family. We went camping in the wilderness for 6 days, no electricity. Left on the trip with 12 fully charged batteries. I get 22 hours out of a set of 2, giving me 132 hours of charge. had a wonderful holiday, stress free

Ivan McCarthy

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Larry C.

Wed, 12/14/2022 - 10:37AM

I've had my Heartmate 3 since January 2021 and we love to go places in our RV.  I got the LVAD so I could live and go places, not stay at home waiting to die. Traveling anywhere and in any mode of transportation with a LVAD is risky, but it is a quality of life thing. We used to have a travel trailer that did not have a generator built in, so we bought a gas powered generator we took with us. Since then we've gotten a Class C motor home that does have a built in generator. Also, we bought what is called a portable power station for camping and other purposes, but they are expensive. Basically it is a super powerful battery you can plug into. We also like to "boondock", staying places without power. But for safety's sake I personally would not boondock for more than 3 days or get too far into the wilderness. Always find out before you go where the nearest hospital is at.  Between the onboard generator and the portable power station, we always have a way to charge batteries. While uncomfortable, I always wear charged batteries to bed rather than relying on constant power from a generator. Too many things could go wrong with a generator, and they are loud. I have 4 sets of batteries which I figure I can rely on to get about 15 hours on each set, which gives me a maximum of 60 hours before having to charge.  Others may disagree, but we and our LVAD team are ok with us traveling in our RV. Good luck and have fun.    

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kyle t.

Fri, 11/03/2017 - 3:45AM
I have a heartmate3 and my controller is silent but sometime I hear a mechanical sound in the back of my neck. It's very strange. Like it's inside the back of my neck but it's just in my head.
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David M.

Mon, 12/04/2017 - 10:11PM
I have an LVAD. At times I also hear my pump. At first, it FREAKED me out. Laying in bed and hearing the pump spinning. I got used to it and now rarely hear anything. On the upside, my dog loves to lay on my chest and listen to my noisy body. I think it calms him at times... :)