Percutaneous left ventricular assist device, TandemHeart^tm, for high‐risk percutaneous coronary revascularization. A single centre experience

Abstract

Patients with severe depression of left ventricular ejection fraction and high‐risk coronary lesions are at risk of developing complications during percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI). Intra‐aortic balloon pump (IABP) is a support that helps the interventionalist in such hemodynamic complications during high‐risk PCI, but it does not offer complete circulatory support. Instead, TandemHeart^tm (Cardiac Assist, Pittsburg, PA, USA) is a percutaneous left ventricular assist device (pLVAD) that gives total left circulatory support and can be used for patients in cardiogenic shock or for elective PCI at high‐risk. TandemHeart^tm is a percutaneous transseptal ventricular assist device that allows a rapid percutaneous left ventricular support without the need for surgical implantation. Between November 2003 and April 2005, 6 patients admitted to our coronary care unit (CCU) underwent either emergency (n = 3) or elective (n = 3) placement of the TandemHeart^tm device before a high‐risk procedure. From our initial experience we conclude that the percutaneous transseptal ventricular assist device, TandemHeart^tm, can be easily and rapidly deployed either in emergency or in elective high‐risk PCI to achieve complete cardiac assistance.

• Shock
• heart‐assist device
• extracorporeal circulation
• high‐risk PCI
• TandemHeart^tm