Scott's VAD vest allows him to do the things he loves

For the past two years, Scott—who lives in Rice Lake, Wisconsin—has had a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) in his chest. The device is a battery-operated, mechanical pump that helps the heart’s left ventricle pump blood to the rest of the body.

Scott’s problems began when he was in his 30s (he’s 47 now), and he experienced situations in which he was out of breath. One day, he became so out of breath while taking his garbage can to the end of the driveway that he didn’t know if he could make it back.

Doctors diagnosed him with sarcoidosis, an inflammatory immune disease in which tiny collections of cells develop in different parts of the body. In most people, it primarily affects the lungs, but in a small percentage that includes Scott, it also causes heart problems.

Scott’s doctor gave him some medications and a LifeVest wearable defibrillator, which is designed to provide a lifesaving shock if the wearer’s heart goes into a dangerously fast rhythm. Though Scott’s heart function was quite low, his doctor told him they would wait and see if it dipped lower before talking about a potential heart transplant.

In January 2022, Scott’s doctor scheduled him for a MitraClip procedure at University Hospital in Madison—a catheter-based intervention that can decrease mitral valve leakage that often accompanies heart problems like Scott’s. However, the cardiologist had to stop the procedure partway through because Scott’s heart was too damaged for him to access the mitral valve. “I thought, oh, what’s next?” said Scott.

Three months after the aborted MitraClip procedure, Scott was retaining large amounts of water. His wife brought him to the hospital in Rice Lake, which promptly transported him by helicopter to University Hospital. Over the course of a weekend in the hospital, Scott lost 24 pounds as machines drained the excess water out of him. “I didn’t realize my kidneys had shut down at that point, and my heart function was down to less than 10 percent.”

The only way left for doctors to manage Scott’s heart and keep him out of the hospital was with an LVAD, a pump that can do the work of the left side of the heart and is implanted inside the chest during a surgical procedure. He received the device on April 11, 2022, and was able to leave the hospital 13 days later. “We were driving out of the hospital,” he said, “and I just started to bawl. I said, I didn’t know if I was ever going to see the outside of the world again.”

Scott had to undergo testing to be considered for the heart transplant list, and he got on the list in November 2022. And now, he waits—but he certainly doesn’t sit at home in the meantime. He attends cardiac rehabilitation three days a week, was able to go hunting with his son, and has fished from the shore a few times. He also still mows his lawn and accomplishes other chores around the house.

“I tell my wife every day, there are people out there who are worse than me,” he said. “God knows that I can handle this. We’re going to make it.”