HeartWare™ Ventricular Assist Device (HVAD™) System: HVAD™ Controller Programming and Use of the Disable “VAD Stop” Alarm Button

A Dear Healthcare Professional Letter has been issued by Medtronic International Limited to inform healthcare professionals about the steps to be followed prior to performing a controller exchange so that restart of the HeartWare^TM Ventricular Assist Device (HVAD^TM) pump is not inadvertently delayed. It is recommended to power down the programmed controller and disconnect the monitor data cable before performing a controller exchange. If these steps are not followed and a patient’s driveline is connected to a controller that was not powered down after programming, the pump will not restart and this could lead to serious harm. Healthcare professionals are advised to review the current HVAD^TM system Instructions For Use (IFU) and follow the detailed steps in the letter for programming the HVAD^TM controller prior to performing a controller exchange. Please refer to the letter for details.

Only abstracts of the Dear Healthcare Professional Letters (DHCPL) are provided on this website. Details of these letters can be found in the MOH Alert System, which is accessible via the Health Professionals Portal (HPP), a one-stop portal for all healthcare professionals in Singapore. Dentists, medical doctors and pharmacists may access HPP at https://hpp.moh.gov.sg ↗ (opens in new tab) and follow the procedures below to access the MOH Alert system.

Step 1: Select your profession under ‘For Healthcare Professionals’.

Step 2: Click on ‘Useful links’.

Step 3: Click on ‘MOH Alert’ and log in via Singpass.

Step 4: Click on ‘Drug Alerts’ or ‘Med Device Alerts’ to view the DHCPLs.