Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of mortality in the western world, and heart failure is considered the epidemic of the 21st century. In this event it was possible to know the latest developments in medical technologies! The guests were Dr. Fátima Franco and Dr. José Pedro Neves, specialists in Cardiology and Cardiothoracic Surgery, respectively, and supported by Professor Hugo Silva, secretary of the IEEE EMBS Portugal Chapter, to discuss how left ventricular assistance (or mechanical ventricular assistance) has as an alternative to cardiac transplantation.