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Your heart has been replaced by a device that pumps blood around your body.

The heart pumps blood through the body. In the process, the blood flows through blood vessels. The blood supplies all areas of the body with oxygen and nutrients. Major, important blood vessels branch out of the heart. The main artery (aorta), originating from the left lower chamber (ventricle) of the heart, supplies the whole body with oxygen-rich blood. The right ventricle pumps oxygen-poor blood through the pulmonary artery to the lungs, where the blood is then enriched with oxygen.

You have been given a device like this during surgery. It involved opening up your chest and removing your heart. The device was then inserted into your heart’s place and connected to the heart’s major blood vessels. The device pumps blood through your body.

Amongst other things, the device consists of a pump with some tubes and cables. One of the tubes connects the left ventricle to the aorta. Another tube connects the right ventricle to the pulmonary artery. Blood is pumped to the body and lungs via these tubes.

From the device in your chest a cable goes from your abdomen to a control unit that supplies power to the device. The control unit can also be used to configure exactly how the device should work.