Usefulness of percutaneous left ventricular assistance to support high-risk percutaneous coronary interventions

Abstract

Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has been proposed as a measure to alleviate symptoms and improve prognosis in patients with atherosclerotic heart disease and depressed heart function. Nonetheless, the risk of ischemic complications during or after the procedure is potentially increased in these patients. A number of supportive techniques have been described for high-risk angioplasty 1 Shawl F.A. Quyyumi A.A. Bajaj S. Hoff S.B. Dougherty K.G. Percutaneous cardiopulmonary bypass-supported coronary angioplasty in patients with unstable angina pectoris or myocardial infarction and a left ventricular ejection fraction ≤25%. Am J Cardiol. 1996; 77: 14-19 Abstract Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (25) Google Scholar , 2 Scholz K.H. Dubois-Rande J.L. Urban P. Morice M.C. Loisance D. Smalling R.W. Figulla H.R. Clinical experience with the percutaneous hemopump during high-risk coronary angioplasty. Am J Cardiol. 1998; 82: 1107-1110 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (22) Google Scholar , 3 Dubois-Rande J.L. Teiger E. Garot J. Aptecar E. Pernes J.M. Tixier D. Gueret P. Loisance D. Dupouy P. Effects of the 14F hemopump on coronary hemodynamics in patients undergoing high-risk coronary angioplasty. Am Heart J. 1998; 135: 844-849 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (7) Google Scholar , 4 Schreiber T.L. Kodali U.R. O’Neill W.W. Gangadharan V. Puchrowicz-Ochocki S.B. Grines C.L. Comparison of acute results of prophylactic intraaortic balloon pumping with cardiopulmonary support for percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PCTA). Cathet Cardiovasc Diagn. 1998; 45: 115-119 Crossref PubMed Scopus (22) Google Scholar , 5 Kaul U. Sahay S. Bahl V.K. Sharma S. Wasir H.S. Venugopal P. Coronary angioplasty in high risk patients comparison of elective intraaortic balloon pump and percutaneous cardiopulmonary bypass support—a randomized study. J Interv Cardiol. 1995; 8: 199-205 Crossref PubMed Scopus (18) Google Scholar ; however, no single approach has achieved wide acceptance. Limited effectiveness in the actual support 6 Taguchi I. Ogawa K. Oida A. Abe S. Kaneko N. Sakio H. Comparison of hemodynamic effects of enhanced external counterpulsation and intra-aortic balloon pumping in patients with acute myocardial infarction. Am J Cardiol. 2000; 86: 1139-1141 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (69) Google Scholar and device-related complications 2 Scholz K.H. Dubois-Rande J.L. Urban P. Morice M.C. Loisance D. Smalling R.W. Figulla H.R. Clinical experience with the percutaneous hemopump during high-risk coronary angioplasty. Am J Cardiol. 1998; 82: 1107-1110 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (22) Google Scholar , 4 Schreiber T.L. Kodali U.R. O’Neill W.W. Gangadharan V. Puchrowicz-Ochocki S.B. Grines C.L. Comparison of acute results of prophylactic intraaortic balloon pumping with cardiopulmonary support for percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PCTA). Cathet Cardiovasc Diagn. 1998; 45: 115-119 Crossref PubMed Scopus (22) Google Scholar , 7 Alderman J.D. Gabliani G.I. McCabe C.H. Brewer C.C. Lorell B.H. Pasternak R.C. Skillman J.J. Steer M.L. Baim D.S. Incidence and management of limb ischemia with percutaneous wire-guided intraaortic balloon catheters. J Am Coll Cardiol. 1987; 9: 524-530 Abstract Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (87) Google Scholar have hampered a more widespread use of these methods. Recently, a newly developed percutaneous left ventricular assist device (pVAD) has been demonstrated to effectively reverse cardiogenic shock after myocardial infarction (Tandem Heart pVAD; Cardiac Assist Technologies, Inc., Ithaca, New York). 8 Thiele H. Lauer B. Hambrecht R. Boudriot E. Cohen H.A. Schuler G. Reversal of cardiogenic shock by percutaneous left atrial-to-femoral arterial bypass assistance. Circulation. 2001; 104: 2917-2922 Crossref PubMed Scopus (233) Google Scholar This system is readily deployed by percutaneous approach in the catheterization laboratory and is able to provide a systemic output of up to 4 L/min. An inflow cannula is inserted into the left atrium via transseptal puncture and the oxygenated blood is diverted to the femoral artery by a low-speed centrifugal continuous-flow pump. In this study, we report on a series of patients who underwent high-risk PCI supported by the Tandem Heart pVAD.