Left ventricular assist devices: The adolescence of a disruptive technology

Sean P. Pinney

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

9 Scopus citations

Abstract

Clinical outcomes for patients with advanced heart failure receiving left ventricular assist devices are driven by appropriate patient selection, refined surgical technique, and coordinated medical care. Perhaps even more important is innovative pump design. The introduction and widespread adoption of continuous-flow ventricular assist devices has led to a paradigm shift within the field of mechanical circulatory support, making the promise of lifetime device therapy closer to reality. The disruption caused by this new technology, on the one hand, produced meaningful improvements in patient survival and quality of life, but also introduced new clinical challenges, such as bleeding, pump thrombosis, and acquired valvular heart disease. Further evolution within this field will require financial investment to sustain innovation leading to a fully implantable, durable, and cost-effective pump for a larger segment of patients with advanced heart failure.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)824-834
Number of pages11
JournalJournal of Cardiac Failure
Volume21
Issue number10
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Oct 2015

Keywords

  • Heart failure
  • innovation
  • left ventricular assist device
  • mechanical circulatory support
  • total artificial heart

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