How to measure the blood pressure of an lvad patient?

Hi 

yeh a Doppler can be used to monitor blood pressure and my husband has an lvad and he has no pulse so the only way to measure this is by using a Doppler 

Hi,

I have had an LVAD for almost 5 years and I am currently using the vascular doppler as well as the coagucheck to measure blood coagulation (INR). Both are okay as make me far from the hospital ambiance, mainly in these days.

Good question, a fetal Doppler would work. They are designed to look for a pulse more broadly. A vascular probe is more focused and will find the pulse more clearly (that’s the primary difference), but if the cost is much different (and it often is), I would Try the fetal one first. 

I have trouble going to my appts and most offices dont have a doppler like my LVAD.  When I started chemo they couldnt take my blood pressure either. They didnt have a doppler so nurse went to maternity to get one. She called it a mini doppler. 

I noticed that in the hospital, all LVAD patients would have their blood pressure checked at least once a day. They used a Huntleigh Doppler Model D900. Connected to this model, was a probe Model VP8-HS. This model is used for the peripheral vessels and arteries. I asked it it would be possible to see if the insurance would cover its cost for home use. I was told by the LVAD team , that none of their patients had a Doppler.

I went on e-bay ....looked up the Huntleigh Doppler D900... found a brand new open box unit for $225.00. Since  they come with no probe (8 probes are available), my next quest Was to locate a probe. I found one, on eBay, that was the absolutely the best for the LVAD use...it was the Huntliegh Model EZ8. Wide beam, that makes it easier to find the location of vessels/arteries, and maintain contact during inflation and deflation of the blood pressure cuff. Cost, on eBay...$105.00 plus shipping.

It was frustrating , when in the hospital, and with home care, the number of times, health providers, were unaware of of the LVAD....let alone what a Doppler was.

Another measurement technique besides the doppler is the Terumo Elemano blood pressure monitor.  It works where other monitors don't because it has a special cuff and a slow deflate mode that allows capture of the weak pulse of an LVAD patient.  It is made in Japan and not sold in the US but can be ordered from Japan on eBay.

I bought a digital BP device and it works quite well for me. On occasion I have to make a couple of attempts. It is available at CVS and it is an OMRON, Series 3 Upper Arm BP Monitor. Model #BP7100 and it cost  $ 69.99. I do a BP measurement in th am and pm.

They didn't teach you how to check his MAP (Mean Arterial Pressure) using a small portable doppler device?  It's like a mini-sonogram.  My husband has had to educate his primary care physician about his LVAD and the fact that he doesn't have a pulse or a blood pressure in the standard sense of the words. The look on a 70+ year old doctor's face the first time he heard that LVAD singing in his stethoscope was priceless!

Hi, I’ve been using a portable doppler for few years and It works quite well.

Hope it works okay for your mother.

Mariza