Anyone travel with an LVAD heart pump?

[Mile_High]

Anyone travel with an LVAD heart pump? Looks like we may be facing that and I'm curious if anyone had issues with it operating on inverter or generator?

[Mile_High]

CWDoc115 wrote:
According to my wife, who worked in an ICU for many years, tells me that you will have no problems with it's onboard power source if it is kept charged.

Thanks CWDoc115!

[CWDoc115]

According to my wife, who worked in an ICU for many years, tells me that you will have no problems with it's onboard power source if it is kept charged.

[Mile_High]

Thanks all!

Doc, I admire your dedication to bike cycling! Wish I would have kept up on it myself.

[xctraveler]

Sounds like a great plan to make the best of a tough situation. I have known others who have chosen to continue to live and enjoy what they can while they can.

I am impressed with how many people think they know how others should live their life.

Go enjoy!

[doc_brown]

Mile High wrote:
Well just to close on this - DW just received the Heartware HVAD, and with this particular manufacture's upgraded control system, it operates on 2 batteries at a time (primary and standby), or AC and one battery on standby, so with AC fail she has 6-7 hours of power and it alarms to wake her up (no sleeping on batteries 🙂 ). They provide 8 batteries.

Spoke with the Rep who called the manufacturer Friday and the AC consist of a 15V - 4A transformer so the AC side is pretty tolerant as it buffers the output somewhat. They said the pure sine wave from the inverter and generator are more than perfect.

Not saying we would ever go off the grid with this, but if we lose power on one of our outings, I'm not going to damage her controller with the MH inverter or generator which was one of my original concerns.

Awesome! I'm a Type 1 diabetic and a cyclist (50-100 miles per day). I wear a sensing device to give me blood glucose data and which also feeds data to my wife's I Phone. She also tracks my position by gps by my phone connecting with hers. Technology is amazing. Best of luck to you guys.

[Mr_Mark1]

Mile High,

Good to hear.

MM.

[Mile_High]

Well just to close on this - DW just received the Heartware HVAD, and with this particular manufacture's upgraded control system, it operates on 2 batteries at a time (primary and standby), or AC and one battery on standby, so with AC fail she has 6-7 hours of power and it alarms to wake her up (no sleeping on batteries 🙂 ). They provide 8 batteries.

Spoke with the Rep who called the manufacturer Friday and the AC consist of a 15V - 4A transformer so the AC side is pretty tolerant as it buffers the output somewhat. They said the pure sine wave from the inverter and generator are more than perfect.

Not saying we would ever go off the grid with this, but if we lose power on one of our outings, I'm not going to damage her controller with the MH inverter or generator which was one of my original concerns.

[Mile_High]

Goldencrazy wrote:
Bless you Mile High for exploring all the options to make the most out of a complicated situation. I suspect as technology continues to create more miracles there will be more posts like yours and hopefully as loving and thoughtful.

Thank you Goldencrazy!

[Goldencrazy]

Bless you Mile High for exploring all the options to make the most out of a complicated situation. I suspect as technology continues to create more miracles there will be more posts like yours and hopefully as loving and thoughtful.

[Mile_High]

10forty2 wrote:
Mile High..... Kudos to you and yours for choosing to live fully, whatever life you may have! So many choose to lay down and let it happen! Since the LVAD is a battery operated device, your RV power should be fine to charge the batteries. But as stated earlier, I'd verify with the manufacturer. The rep at the hospital should be able to tell you anything you need to know.

Thanks 10forty2! The LVAD runs on batteries during the day, but at night the FDA requires them to be on house power for sleeping (just like they do for portable O2 equipment). The LVAD control plugs directly into house current, and the batteries are charged separately. Power loss causes an alarm and the user has to manually reinstall the batteries for power. The device they are considering actually gives you 15 minutes of power within the control box, but others just stop.

When at home - power goes out, we get up and reinstall batteries. normal condition.

When in the RV, power goes out we don't even know it because it goes to inverter, and eventually generator if voltage gets down to 12v. My original question was compatibility with the system on inverter or generator, and as stated, they are pure sine wave. It may be fine, and if not, I can always defeat the generator and inverter at night and just do the same thing we would at the house - get up and install the batteries. I just need to figure it out up front. (I probably don't want to test it on her, I would be horrified if I burned out the control). I'm actually going to see if an LVAD Rep would put me in contact with the engineering department. Maybe they will even test it with me.

[10forty2]

Mile High..... Kudos to you and yours for choosing to live fully, whatever life you may have! So many choose to lay down and let it happen! Since the LVAD is a battery operated device, your RV power should be fine to charge the batteries. But as stated earlier, I'd verify with the manufacturer. The rep at the hospital should be able to tell you anything you need to know.

[Mile_High]

Mr.Mark wrote:
Mile High, I certainly hope the best in your 'important lady's' situation.

A good friend of mine needed a new liver and was sick for a long time. He had an unusual inherited situation and it's a terrible thing to go through.

At first, they said he was not a candidate as certain parameters have to be met. One hospital said no and another in a different city said absolutely yes (always get a second opinion!). Unfortunately, the circumstances of one person give life to another.

It has certainly made me an organ donor advocate.

Best of luck to you.
MM.

Thank you so much for the kind words Mr. Mark - you always take the high ground and I appreciate that.

She also has an inherited issue that is leading to this, so her siblings are watching carefully. She is a pillar of health otherwise, never abused herself like I have. This pump should make her feel better than she has in several years, and it does put her higher on the transplant list.

[Mr_Mark1]

Mile High, I certainly hope the best in your 'important lady's' situation.

A good friend of mine needed a new liver and was sick for a long time. He had an unusual inherited situation and it's a terrible thing to go through.

At first, they said he was not a candidate as certain parameters have to be met. One hospital said no and another in a different city said absolutely yes (always get a second opinion!). Unfortunately, the circumstances of one person give life to another.

It has certainly made me an organ donor advocate.

Best of luck to you.
MM.

[Mile_High]

ArchHoagland wrote:
A friend of mine was on a waiting list for a kidney. After about four years he got a call at midnight from the hospital where they were going to do the transplant and they told him he had to be at the hospital in four hours.

He lived in Fresno and the hospital is in San Francisco. If you don't show up they give the kidney to someone else so time is of the essence.

He got there right at 4am and got the kidney. Everything worked out great. No more dialysis!!

So my question to you is...how fast do you have to get to the hospital and how far away are you planning on traveling?

Sorry if I misled anyone, as my original post question was purely technical. We are in one of the top rated transplant systems in the country and we have been through months of counseling, training, and decision making.

As I've already stated, we have tons of local parks within the response time area, some we have never been to. There is also the very personal decision she will have to make as to whether some of the items on her bucket list out weight the risk of missing that call. The transplant center has a system to go on temporary suspension when traveling outside of the response zone. Many potential recipients continue on with the Europe trip, or some snowbirders even register for tansplant in both habitat regions.

Regardless - that wasn't where I was going with this. I am merely the facilitator to a very important lady in my life and if she wants to see the west coast or the lake down the street, I want to make it happen.