Prog Transplant
-
Patients with end-stage heart failure are increasingly being treated with implantation of a long-term ventricular assist device. As the use of these devices has grown, health care providers have been faced with managing clinically significant gastrointestinal bleeding in this population. ⋯ This article describes the possible causes of, the array of diagnostic procedures for, and treatments for this complication. It is critical to develop an understanding of this topic so cardiac nurses can partner with other subspecialty groups to manage this population.