• Ralph J Petrucci, Susan Wright, Yoshifuma Naka, Kathy A Idrissi, Stuart D Russell, Dzifa Dordunoo, Brian Jaski, Suzanne Chillcott, David Feldman, Tammy Yanssens, Gerald Heatley, Lalig Koundakjian, David J Farrar, Keith D Aaronson, and HeartMate II Clinical Investigators.
• Department of Psychiatry, Drexel University College of Medicine, 245 North 15th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102, USA. ralph.petrucci@drexelmed.edu
• J. Heart Lung Transplant. 2009 Jun 1;28(6):542-9.

BackgroundNeurocognitive (NC) changes in heart failure patients receiving left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) are not well understood. The purpose of this study was to document changes in the cognitive performance of patients with the continuous-flow HeartMate II LVAD as a bridge to transplant (BTT).MethodsA NC protocol was used to evaluate patient performance at 1, 3 and 6 months after LVAD implantation at 11 centers. A total of 239 test sessions were completed in 93 patients including paired evaluations in 51 to 57 patients from 1 to 3 months, and in 20 to 28 patients with results from 1, 3 and 6 months. Five NC domains were assessed, including visual spatial perception, auditory and visual memory, executive functions, language and processing speed.ResultsThere were statistically significant (p < 0.05), but limited improvements between 1, 3 and 6 months in NC domain performances as seen in visual memory, executive functions, visual spatial perception and processing speed. There were no significant declines in any neurocognitive test in any domain over these time periods.ConclusionsThe cognitive performance of advanced heart failure patients remained stable or showed slight improvements from Month 1 to Month 6 of continuous-blood-flow support with the HeartMate II LVAD.

35 keywords...

hide…