Skip to Content
800-533-8762
  • Careers
  • Newsroom
  • Health Care Professionals
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
UPMC
  • Find a Doctor
  • Services
    • Frequently Searched Services
    • Frequently Searched Services
      Allergy & Immunology Behavioral & Mental Health Cancer Ear, Nose & Throat Endocrinology Gastroenterology Heart & Vascular Imaging Neurosciences Orthopaedics
      Physical Rehabilitation Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery Primary Care Senior Services Sports Medicine Telemedicine Transplant Surgery Walk-In Care Weight Management Women’s Health
      See all Services
    • Services by Region
    • Find a UPMC health care facility close to you quickly by browsing by region.
      UPMC in Western Pa. Western Pa. and New York
      UPMC in Central Pa. Central Pa.
      UPMC in North Central Pa. North Central Pa.
      UPMC in Western Md. Maryland & West Virginia
    • See All Services
  • Locations
    • Locations by Type
    • Locations by Type
      UPMC hospitals
      Hospitals
      Physical Therapy
      Physical Therapy
      Urgent care
      Walk-In Care
      UPMC Outpatient Centers
      Outpatient Centers
      UPMC Imaging Services
      Imaging
      Community Health Centers
      Community Health Centers
      See All Locations
    • Locations by Region
    • Locations by Region
      UPMC in Southwest Pa. Southwest Pa.
      UPMC in North Central Pa. North Central Pa.
      UPMC in Northwest Pa and Ny. Northwest Pa. & Western N.Y.
      UPMC in West Central Pa. West Central Pa.
      UPMC in Central Pa. Central Pa.
      UPMC in Western Md. Maryland & West Virginia
    • See All Locations
  • Patients & Visitors
    • Patient & Visitor Resources
    • Patient & Visitor Resources
      Patients and Visitors Resources Pay a Bill Classes & Events Medical Records Health Library Patient Information
      Patient Portals Privacy Information Shared Decision Making Traveling Patients Visitor Information
      Man uses mobile phone
      Pay a Bill
      Nurse reviews medical chart
      Request Medical Records
  • Patient Portals
  • Find Covid-19 updates
  • Schedule an appointment
  • Request medical records
  • Pay a bill
  • Learn about financial assistance
  • Find classes & events
  • Send a patient an eCard
  • Make a donation
  • Volunteer
  • Read HealthBeat blog
  • Explore UPMC Careers
Skip to Content
UPMC
  • Patient Portals
  • For Patients & Visitors
    • Find a Doctor
    • Locations
    • Patient & Visitor Resources
    • Pay a Bill
    • Services
    • More
      • Medical Records
      • Financial Assistance
      • Classes & Events
      • HealthBeat Blog
      • Health Library
  • About UPMC
    • Why UPMC
    • Facts & Stats
    • Supply Chain Management
    • Community Commitment
    • More
      • Financials
      • Support UPMC
      • UPMC Apps
      • UPMC Enterprises
      • UPMC International
  • For Health Care Professionals
    • Physician Information
    • Resources
    • Education & Training
    • Departments
    • Credentialing
  • Careers
  • Contact Us
  • Newsroom
  • UPMC >
  • Our Services >
  • Transplant Services >
  • Heart Transplant >
  • Ventricular Assist Devices (VADs)
Transplant Services
About Us
Heart Transplant
Who is a Candidate?
Video Series
Transplant Journey
Ventricular Assist Devices (VADs)
Your Transplant Team
Patient Stories
Contact Us
Intestinal Transplant
Kidney Transplant
Liver Transplant
Lung Transplant
Pancreas Transplant
Multi-Organ Transplant
Patient Resources
Pediatric Transplant
Referring a Patient
Become a Living Donor
Your Transplant Team
Request an Appointment
Transplant Services
About Us
Heart Transplant
Who is a Candidate?
Video Series
Transplant Journey
Ventricular Assist Devices (VADs)
Your Transplant Team
Patient Stories
Contact Us
Intestinal Transplant
Kidney Transplant
Liver Transplant
Lung Transplant
Pancreas Transplant
Multi-Organ Transplant
Patient Resources
Pediatric Transplant
Referring a Patient
Become a Living Donor
Your Transplant Team
Request an Appointment

Chat Keywords List

  • cancel or exit: Stops your conversation
  • start over: Restarts your current scenario
  • help: Shows what this bot can do
  • terms: Shows terms of use and privacy statement
  • feedback: Give us feedback
Continue
Chat with UPMC
RESTART
MENU
CLOSE

Ventricular Assist Devices (VADs): A Bridge to Heart Transplant

If you need a heart transplant, a ventricular assist device (VAD) can help your heart work while you wait. It can also give you a better quality of life.

UPMC offers a range of treatments for people with severe heart failure, including the latest and most advanced VADs.

What is a VAD?

A VAD is a mechanical device that helps the heart pump blood to the body.

VADs most often provide support to the left ventricle, the major pumping chamber of the heart. But they can also support both the right and left chambers of the heart.

Doctors can implant a VAD into the chest where some parts of the device stay outside the body.

At UPMC, we often use VADs as a bridge to heart transplant when medical treatment or surgery are no longer options.

Once implanted, a VAD sustains your heart while you wait for your transplant. It lets you live a more normal life outside the hospital while you wait for your new heart.

Doctors also use VADs:

  • As destination therapy to improve the lives of people who can't have a heart transplant.
  • To help the heart heal after a heart attack, heart surgery, or other heart issues.

Why Choose UPMC for Your VAD Implant?

  • Our experts have pioneered VAD technology for more than 30 years.
  • Our surgeons implanted the second Jarvik Artificial Heart as a bridge to transplant in 1985.
  • UPMC was the first medical center to discharge a patient with a VAD in 1990.

Since those early days, UPMC's Artificial Heart Program has become one of the most active of its kind.

UPMC’s doctors have:

  • Implanted over 1,300 VADs.
  • Improved existing VADs and designed new ones to increase survival rates and enhance the lives of people waiting for a heart transplant.
  • Access to the latest VAD technology and research through our partners at the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine.

The Artificial Heart Program Team

The team at the UPMC Artificial Heart Program assesses each person to design a treatment plan based on their unique needs.

Our team includes:

  • Heart doctors and heart surgeons
  • Biomedical engineers
  • VAD coordinators
  • Physical, occupational, and respiratory therapists
  • Advanced practice providers
  • Nurses

Working together, the artificial heart experts:

  • Conduct thorough exams to decide if a VAD is right for you.
  • Assess which type of VAD is most helpful for each person.
  • Give detailed education to patients and their loved ones about what to expect before and after a VAD implant.
  • Research new VAD technology.

Learn more about VADs at the UPMC Artificial Heart Program.

Contact the UPMC Heart Transplant Program

To contact the UPMC Heart Transplant Program, please call 412-648-6202 or toll-free at 844-548-4591. You can also fill out the UPMC Heart Transplant Program contact form to make an appointment or refer a patient.


UPMC
200 Lothrop Street Pittsburgh, PA 15213

412-647-8762 800-533-8762

Patients And Visitors
  • Find a Doctor
  • Locations
  • Pay a Bill
  • Patient & Visitor Resources
  • Disabilities Resource Center
  • Services
  • Medical Records
  • No Surprises Act
  • Price Transparency
  • Financial Assistance
  • Classes & Events
  • Health Library
Health Care Professionals
  • Physician Information
  • Resources
  • Education & Training
  • Departments
  • Credentialing
Newsroom
  • Newsroom Home
  • Inside Life Changing Medicine Blog
  • News Releases
About
  • Why UPMC
  • Facts & Stats
  • Supply Chain Management
  • Community Commitment
  • Financials
  • Supporting UPMC
  • HealthBeat Blog
  • UPMC Apps
  • UPMC Enterprises
  • UPMC Health Plan
  • UPMC International
  • Nondiscrimination Policy
Life changing is...
Follow UPMC
  • Contact Us
  • Website/Email Terms of Use
  • Medical Advice Disclaimer
  • Privacy Information
  • Active Privacy Alerts
  • Sitemap
© 2025 UPMC I Affiliated with the University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences Supplemental content provided by Healthwise, Incorporated. To learn more, visit healthwise.org
Find Care
Providers
Video Visit
Portal Login