Heart failure patients live longer, better with new treatment option September 12, 2012
Earlville resident Kenneth Clowers, 67, is retired but still enjoys helping out now and then at the family’s auto repair business. But, he had to stop at least four times to regain his energy while walking the one-and-half blocks from his house to the shop.
Clowers was suffering from heart failure, caused in his case by damage from an earlier heart attack and the effects of diabetes.
The condition was robbing Clowers of energy, shortening his breath and causing a number of other symptoms. He needed a new heart but didn’t want to take the place of a younger person on a transplant list.
Instead, on July 24, Clowers was given a left ventricle assist device (LVAD), which takes over the pumping function of the heart’s left ventricle.
