Korean J Med.
2012 Jun;82(6):658-666.
Treatment of Advanced Heart Failure: Beyond Medical Treatment
- Affiliations
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- 1Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. choijean5@gmail.com
Abstract
- During last 2 decades, advance in the mechanical circulatory support has altered the management of end-stage heart failure and cardiogenic shock. This includes percutaneous mechanical support devices such as extracorporeal membrane oxygenator (ECMO) and implantable left ventricular assist devices (LVAD). Percutaneous devices may provide prompt circulatory support and save lives of the patients with cardiogenic shock. But for a prolonged support, long-term devices such as implantable LVAD are mandatory. LVAD is useful for both bridge-to-transplantation strategy and destination therapy for the patients with end-stage heart failure. Newer LVAD using continuous flow pump has several advantages over those with pulsatile flow pump, which includes smaller size and durability and showed better outcome in recent studies. In this manuscript, brief reviews of percutaneous and implantable devices for the management of advanced heart failure will be provided.
