Decatur, Ga.-based Emory Heart and Vascular Center completed its 500th left ventricular assist device implantation.
This year alone, Emory surgeons have implanted approximately 60 LVADs and expect to implant more before the end of the year. Currently, Atlanta-based Emory Healthcare is the number one LVAD implanting center in the U.S., according to the Oct. 6 press release.
Ventricular assist devices help the heart pump blood to the rest of the body in patients with end-stage heart failure who are unable to undergo a heart transplant.