Pediatric mechanical circulatory support: challenges and opportunities.

Cardiomyopathy is rare in the pediatric age group, with an annual incidence of only 6 to 12 cases per million children.1–3 In addition to the genetic and acquired cardiomyopathies, heart failure in children also occurs as a complication of congenital cardiac anomalies, ranging from hypoplastic left heart syndrome to tetralogy of Fallot. In the registry of the International Society of Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT), approximately 65% of heart transplantations in infants were performed as the result of congenital cardiac anomalies, whereas in older children that percentage decreases to 24%.4,5