Arie Blitz of the McAllen Heart Hospital, McAllen, Texas, discusses ventricular assist device RPM settings to maximize output and effectiveness.
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Mechanical circulatory assistance
August 14, 2015
The Texas Heart Institute reports its experience with 27 patients with prior continuous flow LVADs who had undergone varying degrees of device explantation. Although the numbers are small, the explantation methods ranged from near-complete device removal to driveline transection and removal.
August 12, 2015
Arie Blitz of the McAllen Heart Hospital, Texas, takes an in-depth look at extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO).
August 12, 2015
A single institution retrospectively reviewed the correlation of preoperative serum albumin level with outcomes after LVAD implantation from 2006 to 2014. A lower albumin level was associated with a significant increase in postop renal failure and prolonged hospitalization, but not overall short-term and long-term survival.
August 6, 2015
This retrospective analysis of the BTT continuous flow (CF) LVAD experience from Harefield Hospital addresses the question: "What are the predictors of the requirement for an RVAD at the time of LVAD implantation?" Of the 152 patients included in the study, 23% underwent RVAD implantation.
June 30, 2015
In this video, the authors describe their experience using a percutaneous left ventricular assist device (LVAD) as a bridge to transplant in a morbidly obese pediatric patient with severe heart failure due to viral myocarditis.
June 20, 2015
The University of Wisconsin group analyzed the etiology, costs, and effect on survival of unplanned readmissions after LVAD surgery. At a median follow-up of 11 months, 68 of the 103 patients (66%) were readmitted. The top 3 causes of readmission were GI bleeding, driveline infection, and stroke.
May 10, 2015
This is a follow up study by the investigators on aortic valve opening during continuous flow LVAD support. Their earlier study looked at the rate of aortic insufficiency during CF LVAD support therapy comparing patients who achieved aortic valve opening during rest versus those who did not.
May 10, 2015
In this excellent case report the authors describe the use of ECMO on a 28 year old pregenant female (26 weeks gestation) that developed ARDS requiring ECMO support for survival. The outcome for both mother and child was described as excellent with both being discharged from hospital care. The article has several important elements regarding ECMO fo
May 7, 2015
A panel of five experts discuss the use of ECMO in a roundtable discussion, which was filmed at the 2015 STS Annual Meeting in San Diego, California.