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Invited Commentary
April 2016

Learning From Caregivers About the End of Life in Patients With a Left Ventricular Assist Device

Author Affiliations
  • 1National Institute of Nursing Research, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
JAMA Intern Med. 2016;176(4):540-541. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2016.0275

Nothing is more powerful than hearing the direct words of caregivers, as their words serve as a subjective evaluation of the care we have provided to them and their loved ones. Caregivers for patients with left ventricular assist devices (LVADs), particularly those with destination therapy LVADs, are particularly unique in the spectrum of caregivers, because having someone available for a caregiver role is a requirement for LVAD candidacy. With the increasing use of LVADs, especially destination therapy LVADs, caregiver issues will continue to be a high priority for clinicians.

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