ASAIO journal : a peer-reviewed journal of the American Society for Artificial Internal Organs
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The effects of intraaortic balloon pumping (IABP) on portal venous flow were assessed using color Doppler echography. A total of 23 heart failure patients treated with IABP were assessed. Balloon inflation was timed to occur with every other cardiac contraction. ⋯ The velocities measured with IABP ON were larger than or equal to those with IABP OFF in all cases, however, except one. Thus, Vmax (22 +/- 8 cm/sec) and Vmean (17 +/- 6 cm/sec) with IABP ON were significantly larger (p 0.01) than those with IABP OFF (20 +/- 7 cm/sec and 16 +/- 6 cm/sec, respectively). The flow pattern of the portal vein was characteristically pulsatile either with IABP ON or OFF in most cases.