Is the Thoratec ® paracorporeal ventricular assist device a primary or secondary device to support patients with refractory cardiogenic shock?

Abstract

Temporary mechanical circulatory support should be considered for rescuing patients with refractory cardiogenic shock [1]. This technique has been used successfully as a bridge to myocardial recovery or cardiac transplantation in patients with various aetiologies of overt cardiac failure, e.g., acute myocardial infarction, end-stage dilated cardiomyopathy, viral or toxic myocarditis, complications of cardiac surgery and cardiac arrest [2-4]. The Thoratec ® paracorporeal ventricular assist device (Thoratec ® PVAD) can be used in these indications. It is a pulsatile-flow, univentricular or biventricular cardiac assist device (BiVAD). In this issue of Archives of Cardiovascular Diseases, Kirsch et al. [5] present their single-centre experience between January 1996 and June 2008, in a retrospective study.