A ventricular assist device, or VAD, is an electromechanical device that supports the pumping function of a failing heart, either partially or completely, and is used to treat acute or chronic heart failure arising from conditions such as coronary artery disease, atrial fibrillation or valve disease. A VAD is distinct from a total artificial heart, which is built to take over the heart's function entirely and generally requires removing the patient's own heart; a VAD instead works alongside the native heart, assisting rather than replacing it. The Argentine-American surgeon Domingo Liotta built the first left ventricular assist device at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston in 1962, and he and Michael E. DeBakey achieved the first successful implantation in 1966; the first successful long-term implantation followed in 1988, performed by William F. Bernhard of Boston Children's Hospital, work that led to the development of the HeartMate device.
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