Vanderbilt Researcher Receives Award to Study LVADs in Heart Failure Patients
Medtronic sponsors research aimed at improving patient outcomes
ADDISON, TX – 27 May, 2020 – Jordan R.H. Hoffman, MD, Assistant Professor in Cardiac Surgery at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, TN., has received the O.H. Frazier Award in MCS Translational Research
sponsored by Medtronic and administered by the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT). The $65,000 award will allow Dr. Hoffman to study complications that arise in some heart failure patients who rely on Left Ventricular
Assist Devices (LVADs) for cardiac support.
Dr. Hoffman’s research explores whether changes in the right coronary artery blood flow after LVAD implantation are a possible cause for the high rate of right ventricular failure seen in patients.
“I’m honored to be the recipient of this important award and grateful for Medtronic’s generosity,” said Dr. Hoffman. “This work will help us better understand the role coronary blood flow plays in predisposing patients to RV dysfunction. The findings will play a significant role in improving patients’ quality of life.”
The O.H. Frazier Award support risings stars in the field of mechanical circulatory support at a critical time in their career. O.H. “Bud” Frazier is a heart surgeon and director of cardiovascular surgery at the Texas Heart Institute in Houston, Texas, and considered a pioneer in working with mechanical circulatory support systems.
“On behalf of Medtronic, I would like to congratulate Dr. Hoffman for being selected as this year’s award recipient,” said Nnamdi Njoku, vice president and general manager of the Mechanical Circulatory Support business at Medtronic. “We share in Dr. Hoffman’s commitment to advance LVAD therapy and we appreciate the important work Dr. Hoffman is doing to improve patient outcomes.”
Heart failure affects six million people in the United States alone.
Patients with advanced heart failure have a median survival of two years and experience marked reductions in functional capacity as well as quality of life. The LVAD is a pump that restores blood flow to a weakened heart by helping move blood from
the heart to the aorta.
The study will be completed at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) hospital and will include a multidisciplinary team, with participants from cardiothoracic surgery, cardiology, and thoracic radiology.
The International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation is a not-for-profit, multidisciplinary professional organization dedicated to improving the care of patients with advanced heart or lung disease through transplantation, mechanical support and innovative therapies. For more information, visit www.ishlt.org.