India, Oct. 9 -- Heart transplants and mechanical heart pumps represent two life-saving advancements in modern cardiology that have transformed how doctors manage end-stage heart failure. While heart transplants replace a failing heart with a donor organ, mechanical heart pumps - such as Left Ventricular Assist Devices (LVADs) - act as artificial supports that keep blood flowing when the heart can no longer do so effectively.

These devices can sustain life for years, either as a bridge to transplant or as long-term therapy, but they also come with unique challenges and lifestyle adjustments that many people are unaware of.

Dr Dmitry Yaranov, a cardiologist and heart transplant surgeon, specialising in advanced heart failure, heart trans...