Healing the Human Heart
Instead of the large, heavy heart pump that often do not fit women, people with damaged hearts may receive a LVAD (left ventricular assist device) to keep them alive while waiting for a donor heart.
When doctors turn the pump on, it circulates blood continuously and quietly. As a result, Salena has no pulse and no blood pressure...What's exciting is how this device is helping the heart to repair itself, something previously thought to be impossible.
...But there's more going on: Her heart seems to be healing, and her doctors believe that eventually she may not need a pump at all...It's a beautiful thing.
...We used to the think that once damaged, cardiac cells could not fix themselves, but Gupta reports that the device shows they are capable of repair while the pump does all the work.
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