• Am J Emerg Med · Aug 2019

    Review

    Left ventricular assist devices and their complications: A review for emergency clinicians.

    • Brit Long, Jennifer Robertson, Alex Koyfman, and William Brady.
    • Brooke Army Medical Center, Department of Emergency Medicine, 3841 Roger Brooke Dr, Fort Sam Houston, TX 78234, United States. Electronic address: brit.long@yahoo.com.
    • Am J Emerg Med. 2019 Aug 1; 37 (8): 1562-1570.

    IntroductionEnd stage heart failure is associated with high mortality. However, recent developments such as the ventricular assist device (VAD) have improved patient outcomes, with left ventricular assist devices (LVAD) most commonly implanted.ObjectiveThis narrative review evaluates LVAD epidemiology, indications, normal function and components, and the assessment and management of complications in the emergency department (ED).DiscussionThe LVAD is a life-saving device in patients with severe heart failure. While first generation devices provided pulsatile flow, current LVAD devices produce continuous flow. Normal components include the pump, inflow and outflow cannulas, driveline, and external controller. Complications related to the LVAD can be divided into those that are LVAD-specific and LVAD-associated, and many of these complications can result in severe patient morbidity and mortality. LVAD-specific complications include device malfunction/failure, pump thrombosis, and suction event, while LVAD-associated complications include bleeding, cerebrovascular event, infection, right ventricular failure, dysrhythmia, and aortic regurgitation. Assessment of LVAD function, patient perfusion, and mean arterial pressure is needed upon presentation. Electrocardiogram and bedside ultrasound are key evaluations in the ED. LVAD evaluation and management require a team-based approach, and consultation with the LVAD specialist is recommended.ConclusionEmergency clinician knowledge of LVAD function, components, and complications is integral in optimizing care of these patients.Published by Elsevier Inc.

      Pubmed     Full text   Copy Citation     Plaintext  

      Add institutional full text...

    Notes

     
    Knowledge, pearl, summary or comment to share?
    300 characters remaining
    help        
    You can also include formatting, links, images and footnotes in your notes
    • Simple formatting can be added to notes, such as *italics*, _underline_ or **bold**.
    • Superscript can be denoted by <sup>text</sup> and subscript <sub>text</sub>.
    • Numbered or bulleted lists can be created using either numbered lines 1. 2. 3., hyphens - or asterisks *.
    • Links can be included with: [my link to pubmed](http://pubmed.com)
    • Images can be included with: ![alt text](https://bestmedicaljournal.com/study_graph.jpg "Image Title Text")
    • For footnotes use [^1](This is a footnote.) inline.
    • Or use an inline reference [^1] to refer to a longer footnote elseweher in the document [^1]: This is a long footnote..

    hide…

Want more great medical articles?

Keep up to date with a free trial of metajournal, personalized for your practice.
1,704,841 articles already indexed!

We guarantee your privacy. Your email address will not be shared.