Relapsing Low Flow Alarms Due to Abnormal Inflow Cannula Position in Patients with Left Ventricular Assist Devices

Left Ventricular Assist Devices.

Characteristics of ventricular tachycardia ablation in patients with continuous flow left ventricular assist devices.

BACKGROUND Left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) are increasingly used as a bridge to cardiac transplantation or as destination therapy. Patients with LVADs are at high risk for ventricular arrhythmias. This study describes ventricular arrhythmia characteristics and ablation in patients implanted with a Heart Mate II device. METHODS AND RESULTS All patients with a Heart Mate II device who u...

Gastrointestinal bleeding with continuous-flow left ventricular assist devices.

Continuous-flow left ventricular assist device (CF-LVAD) insertion is a life-saving procedure that is being increasingly used in patients with advanced heart failure. However, patients with CF-LVADs are at an increased risk of gastrointestinal bleeding (GIB). Bleeding can occur anywhere in the GI tract with lesions being more prevalent in the upper GI tract than in the lower GI tract. The patho...

Dynamic left ventricular assist device inflow obstruction.

A 72-year-old man with a history of rheumatic heart disease , prior bioprosthetic mitral and aortic valve replacement , severe nonischemic dilated cardiomyopathy (left ventricular [LV] ejection fraction 5%), and a history of ven-tricular tachycardia (VT) underwent implantation of a continuous flow LV assist device (LVAD; HeartMate II; Thoratec Corporation) as destination therapy for severe hear...

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement performed via left ventricular assist device inflow cannula.

A 62-year-old woman with a history of lung cancer, prior surgical aortic valve replacement with a 23-mm Hancock (Medtronic, Inc, Minneapolis, MN) porcine valve, and non-ischemic cardiomyopathy supported with a HeartMate II destination therapy left ventricular assist device (LVAD; Thoratec Corporation, Pleasanton, CA) presented with hemolytic anemia (hemoglobin, 6.8 g/dL; lactate dehydrogenase, ...