EMS Receives Special Training

Fayette County EMS was given a special training opportunity, lead by Kristin Kirtland, Director of Mechanical Circulatory Support at the Heart Hospital of Austin. The training took place at the EMS Office in La Grange on Thursday, Feb. 24.

“The educational opportunity we were able to secure through working with the Heart Hospital of Austin was relating to Ventricular Assist Devices (VADs),” said Josh Vandever, Director of Fayette County EMS. “VADs are highly specialized cardiac devices that help patients who are suffering from end-stage heart failure. These devices can be used as a bridge to help a patient survive until they can get a heart transplant, to give them a comfortable way to continue an active life for several years until their eventual passing or, in very rare cases, can be a bridge until their heart failure improves.”

A VAD is a mechanical circulatory support device that helps pump blood from the lower chambers of your heart to the rest of your body. VADs are most often used as a type of bridge therapy, a therapy used to help a patient while they wait for a donor to become available for a heart transplant. There are cases where a patient isn’t a good candidate for a heart transplant, so the VAD can be used as a way to keep them active and comfortable for the remainder of their life. Also, there are rare cases of temporary heart failure, where the VAD can be used until the heart is healthy enough to pump blood on its own.

“As this procedure becomes more common in healthcare, we at Fayette County EMS are committed to being prepared to offer the most current treatments available to help these patients along on their way to the hospital,” said Vandever.