200 lives saved in BC because of SPH’s VAD program

For 67 year-old Scott Wilson, the trickiest part of his ventricular assist device (VAD) is getting the car seat belt over it. Only a small annoyance to have to deal with so that his heart continues to beat.

“It’s keeping me on the correct side of the ground!” says Scott.

Since 2002, when the VAD program came to St. Paul’s Hospital, this simple life saving device has saved 200 lives in BC. A VAD is surgically implanted in the chest and works by helping to pump blood from the heart to the rest of the body. For now, VADs are only implanted as a bridge to transplant in BC, which can be a wait of several months or even years.