August 11, 2016 — Carew Medical Wear Inc., a custom medical outfit company specializing in left ventricular assistance device (LVAD) undergarments, has teamed up with Major League Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Rod Carew in efforts to fill the void in the garment industry that support the Heartmate II LVAD. Rod Carew, a Heart of 29 Campaigner, has teamed up with the American Heart Association to raise awareness and funds for heart disease and heart failure.
The American Heart Association, in collaboration with the Heart Failure Society of America, recently published a report claiming more than five million Americans are living with heart failure. According to the report, there are about 600,000 new cases of heart failure recorded each year, making this patient demographic one of the largest served within the hospital setting.
Carew suffered a massive heart attack while on a golf course in California in September 2015. After being hospitalized for more than six weeks and having several surgeries, his heart was outfitted with an LVAD. After being discharged from the hospital, Carew became increasingly concerned with his exposed LVAD. The hospital-supplied garments did little to comfortably secure either his battery pack or its hanging wires. As a result, he was inspired to address this issue.
Carew established Carew Medical Wear Inc. to fill the gap in the LVAD market, and he has since then become the company’s chief spokesperson. His hopes are to promote alternatives to device protection, specifically garments that secure all aspects of the LVAD. A medical professional within the heart failure community recently commented, “I can now send my patients skiing or biking because everything is secured and stowed away.”
Carew Medical Wear Inc. provides heart failure patients two forms of LVAD compression undergarment protection, #29 – Left and #29 – Right. Number 29 is a reference to the number that Rod Carew wore during his tenure in the Major League Baseball uniform. Left and Right refers to which side the patient’s drive line is exiting. Each compression fitting undergarment has its own patent pending. Both of these garments accommodate and secure every single piece of the LVAD equipment including:
- Loose cables;
- A heat-resistant computer compartment;
- A battery holster;
- Drivelines; and
- Safer transportation.
For more information: www.carewmedicalwear.com
January 10, 2026 
