Weaning from mechanical support after complete recovery in patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy

Abstract

Implanting a mechanical cardiac assist system as a bridge to transplantation or for long-term support is ultimately the only immediately available therapy for treating endstage cardiac diseases after conservative drug therapy has failed. The primary indications for implanting a cardiac support system are ischemic heart disease and idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (IDC). IDC is frequently associated with the presence of anti-β1adrenoceptor (A-β1-AAB) and other autoantibodies in the sera of patients directed against cardiac structures. This present study assessed whether changes in A-β1-AAB levels during mechanical cardiac support might be used as an indicator for cardiac recovery with the ultimate goal of weaning patients from the device instead of performing transplantation on them.