FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WPTA) – Two years ago, 35-year-old Mitchell Evenson went into heart failure during a procedure.
He was in a coma for five days and doctors had to implant a mechanical pump into his heart: an LVAD, or left ventricular assist device. It helped pump blood through his heart to the rest of his body.
But last month, doctors determined he no longer needed it; his heart had regained enough strength to deactivate the device. The procedure is uncommon, so much so that Lutheran Hospital has deactivated LVADs less than 10 times…