Expanding the role of perfusionists in the era of new treatment options for cardiovascular disease.

Treatment for cardiovascular disease has dramatically changed the surgical patient population over the past 10 years. Advances in medical management and interventional cardiovascular procedures have delayed surgery in many adults, and the surgical pool has begun to decrease despite an aging population. This affects perfusionists in terms of new psychological and technical challenges, and has serious consequences and implications for the future of the profession. This study will review the changing patterns of diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease in the USA over the past 10 years by examining the annual surgical procedure rates and correlating them with the number of practicing perfusionists and new student graduates. The purpose of this review is to project the future employment opportunities for perfusionists. The second part of the paper will look at the alternative roles perfusionists have expanded into as a result of changes in the treatment of cardiovascular disease. The results of an e-mail survey of perfusionists will be presented to identify new applications of perfusion technology.