Study note

Ventricular assist devices: operation, benefits and limitations

THE CONTEXT

Ventricular assist devices mechanically assist cardiac output, unload the ventricles and support the pulmonary and systemic circulations.

•

Devices use roller, centrifugal or pulsatile pumps; some are implantable and portable.

•

Cannulae withdraw blood from the atria or ventricular apex, and the pump delivers it into the pulmonary artery or aorta.

•

The devices are designed both to unload the ventricles and to support the pulmonary and systemic circulations.

•

Some improvements in survival and quality of life have been demonstrated in patients with severe heart failure.

•

High complication rates limit wider use. Complications include haemorrhage, systemic embolism, infection, and neurological and renal sequelae.

NEETx

Learn. Practise. Remember.