Pediatric VAD as Bridge to Transplant

Presented by Dr. Ashish Garg, MD, Attending Physician in Cardiology at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics (Cardiology) at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Dr. Garg will share insights on the evolving landscape of pediatric Ventricular Assist Device (VAD) support. Pediatric heart failure remains a critical and complex clinical challenge, with heart transplantation serving as the definitive therapy for many children with end-stage disease. However, the limited availability of donor organs necessitates the use of ventricular assist devices (VADs) as a bridge to transplant in select pediatric patients. Over the past two decades, advances in technology, patient selection strategies, and perioperative management have significantly expanded the role of pediatric VADs.