Artificial Heart Program Patient Experience
Robert Hensch
Mr. Hensch is a 55 year old man who was diagnosed with high blood pressure in 1984 and heart failure of an unknown cause in 1990. He had started to have shortness of breath while fixing things around the house and went to his doctor, who recommended a cardiac evaluation at UPMC’s Heart Failure Clinic. The cardiologist found Mr. Hensch to have significantly decreased heart function, which was controlled by medications for several years. In 1998 Mr. Hensch began having an irregular heart rhythm and had a pacemaker/defibrillator inserted, but his heart failure continued to worsen. He was told he would need a heart transplant to survive, but that a donor heart might not become available in time to save his life. In March 1998 Mr. Hensch required placement of a Novacor Left Ventricular Assist Device (VAD) to keep him alive until a donor heart was found. He received a heart transplant in April of 1999, and has returned to an active life style. When asked if has seen any changes in himself that he feels are due to the experiences he had while being supported on a VAD, Mr. Hensch responded, “I feel I am a much better person than I was because I can tell the patients that I visit about it.” Mr. Hensch can often be found at UPMC visiting and sharing his experiences with people who are being supported by a VAD while awaiting a heart transplant. He has also participated in the Transplant Games and the American Heart Walk. He lives in the Pittsburgh area with his wife, Cheech.
Richard Bruce
Mr. Bruce is a 64 year old man who began experiencing shortness of breath with flu-like symptoms in November of 1997. After about two weeks, he came to UPMC where he was diagnosed as having an enlarged, failing heart. Despite medical therapy, his heart function deteriorated and in February 2001 he was placed on the heart transplant list. Eventually Mr. Bruce’s heart failure worsened so that he required insertion of a HeartMate Left Ventricular Assist Device (VAD), to stay alive until a donor heart could be found. Mr. Bruce has said that the VAD gave him a better quality of life and allowed him to “climb stairs without gasping for air.” He was very active while being supported by the HeartMate, making frequent trips to Erie with his wife, Peg, where they own a cottage. He also continued to work from his hospital bed and home and while on the HeartMate, and was able to negotiate a contract with a paging company that would provide very low cost pagers to patients waiting for a heart transplant at UPMC. Mr. Bruce received his new heart in September 2002, and lives in the Pittsburgh area with his wife, near their four sons.
