The Mechanical Assist Device Program at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania is an integral component of the cardiac surgery and cardiac transplant programs.  The cardiac assist device team is comprised of nationally known experts in cardiac surgery, heart failure and transplant care, and cardiac assist device technology.

As one of the busiest transplant programs in the region, the ready availability of a variety of cardiac assist devices is necessary to support the sickest patients on our wait list. Of all the patients at our center who undergo heart transplant each year, twenty to thirty percent survived to surgery because they were supported by a cardiac assist device.  In some instances, patients were able to wait at home, even return to work, while on a support device.