Context
Every year, approximately 40,000 children in the United States are born with congenital heart diseases compromising the structure of the heart (1 ,2). Heart disease is the leading cause of mortality, resulting in a quarter of all deaths in the US each year (3).
Types of Heart Failure
The most common type of heart failure is left-sided, which can include failure of the left ventricle (LV) preventing it from pumping blood to the aorta effectively[^6]. Left-sided heart failure may be diastolic, in which the LV is unable to expand sufficiently to fill with blood, or systolic, in which the LV cannot contract enough to push blood through to the aorta[^7].
Systolic heart failure is more common, and there are more treatments available for it. In minor cases, heart failure can be treated with lifestyle changes and medication[^8]. In more severe cases, a potential treatment for end-stage left-sided systolic heart failure is a Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD).