If Considering a Mechanical Heart Pump, Find an Experienced Doctor

According to Bloomberg News, "Half the people given mechanical heart pumps designed to avoid transplant surgery died within a year, according to a study suggesting the device's popularity has grown faster than doctors' skill." Of the 1,500 patients given a ventricular assist device instead of a heart transplant, 52% survived after a year, say Duke University researchers in an article published online today in the Journal of the American Medical Association. "At hospitals installing at least five pumps a year, the risk of death dropped 31 percent," suggesting survival rates improve with practice. "The article notes that the devices are growing in popularity, 'although the learning process has lagged behind hospitals' rush to offer the procedure, said Adrian Hernandez, the lead author." Adds the New York Times: "The devices have great promise but are being used too often in the wrong patients and at the wrong hospitals -- in people who are too sick to benefit, and at hospitals that do not treat enough patients to gain the expertise needed for their complex care -- the researchers say."