RSCM prepares LVAD services for advanced heart failure patients

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Dr Cipto Mangunkusumo National General Hospital (RSCM) is preparing Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD) services as a therapy for patients with advanced heart failure to help improve their quality of life and life expectancy.

RCSM President Director Supriyanto Dharmoredjo stated that the development of this service is expected to expand public access to modern heart failure therapies in Indonesia. “We welcome the opportunity to present more advanced heart failure management solutions in Indonesia. This collaboration is expected to help lower the high mortality rate caused by heart failure, while simultaneously increasing public access to innovative therapies without having to seek treatment abroad,” Supriyanto said in an official statement in Jakarta on Friday.

LVAD is a mechanical heart pump device implanted through surgery to assist the left ventricle in pumping blood throughout the body for patients whose heart function has drastically declined. As an initial stage, RSCM is scheduled to perform the first LVAD implantation on a 45-year-old female patient with a heart pump function of 14 per cent, who has undergone repeated treatments due to heart failure.

The Head of the Cardiovascular Department at RSCM, Birry Karim, stated that the development of LVAD services is part of an effort to strengthen the management of advanced heart failure, which has previously relied on drug therapy or heart transplants. The latest generation of LVAD devices to be used is smaller than previous generations, allowing for safer and more effective procedures for more patients.

In addition to providing the device, the service development includes the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to assist in patient selection, the creation of clinical protocols, post-operative assistance through an LVAD Coordinator, and strengthening multidisciplinary communication among healthcare professionals. He added that developments in regenerative technology, including stem cell therapy, have the potential to make LVAD a temporary therapy for some patients if heart function can be restored in the future.

To support this service, an RSCM multidisciplinary team—comprising cardiac surgeons, cardiologists, rehabilitation specialists, and nurses—has undergone training at Fuwai Hospital in Beijing. The training covered patient selection, LVAD implantation techniques, post-operative care, and service development according to international standards.

M. Arza Dutra, a Consultant Cardiac and Thoracic Surgeon at RSCM, noted that the success of LVAD therapy depends on multidisciplinary collaboration from the pre-operative stage through to patient monitoring after the device is implanted.