Akron Life December 2023

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BEATING THE ODDS

“I talked to all my family and I decided that to get a better quality of life, I needed to do this,” Karnuth adds, “to be not only around for my existing family, but any future family that comes along.” She did an under-six-hour open heart sur gery to implant the LVAD into Karnuth Sept. 6. It must always be powered by a cord that exits through the abdomen and attaches to rechargeable batteries or wall power. It isn’t a cure, but it offers improvement in symptoms and longevity. “We make a hole in the very tip of the left ventricle and sew the device in place,” Cheung says. “It receives the blood that should be going into the left ventricle and bypasses it to the ascending aorta, and then it pumps the blood all over the body.” She adds that there is a great need for this treatment. While around 27,000 people nationwide are candidates for the LVAD, only 3,000 to 4,000 are implanted each year due to low awareness or availability. For Karnuth, it’s given him a second chance at doing the things he loves, like babysitting his grandchildren and great grandchildren whom he watches cartoons with, taking walks and spending time with his wife, whom he has been married to for almost 50 years. “Going forward, I’m looking forward to the grandkids and my anniversary coming up,” he says. “It really is life-changing,” Cheung says. AS

are getting enough blood. So really, your quality of life and your quantity of life are limited by that.” Robert Karnuth, a 71-year-old Akron native, had a stroke about five years ago. He had left-sided heart failure beginning in 2019, and it progressed to end-stage by summer 2023. He had a team of doctors caring for him and was on medication, but still, he was experiencing shortness of breath, constant tiredness and problems walking. His team, including Cheung, recommended he receive the LVAD. “People really do very well with it, so there is an alternative for heart failure that isn’t hospice,” she says.

Many patients with end-stage heart failure need a heart transplant to live, but hearts are scarce, and some people don’t qualify. But many do qualify for a left ventricular assist device, which can keep them alive. It helps the heart better pump oxygen and nutrient-rich blood throughout the body. Patients can get the electrical pump implanted on the heart at Summa Health Akron — one of only eight Ohio hospitals that offers it. “The left ventricle is really the workhorse of the heart. It’s what pumps blood all over the body out to the aorta, to every organ,” says Dr. Maureen Cheung, a cardiothoracic surgeon at Summa. “None of your organs

Left: Dr. Maureen Cheung and Robert Karnuth, photo by Kaitlyn Murray, Above: LVAD image provided by Summa Health

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DECEMBER 2023 | akronlife.com