Partial mechanical long-term support with the CircuLite Synergy pump as bridge-to-transplant in congestive heart failure.

BACKGROUND

Full mechanical support with a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) is often limited to very sick patients, as the only survival option. This European multicenter study analyzes the effect of partial mechanical support as bridge-to-transplant in a less sick heart failure patient group.

METHODS

The CircuLite Synergy device is implanted via a small right-sided thoracotomy with an inflow cannula in the left atrium and an outflow graft connected to the right subclavian artery without the use of extracorporeal circulation. The pump itself sits in a "pacemaker" pocket subcutaneously in the right clavicular groove. It is able to pump up to 3.0 l/min and partially unload the left ventricle.

RESULTS

The device was implanted in 25 patients on the cardiac transplant waiting list (20 males), aged 55.5 +/- 9.6 yrs with an ejection fraction of 21.6 +/- 6.0 %, a mean arterial pressure of 73.5 +/- 8.5 mmHg, a pulmonary capillary wedge pressure of 27.2 +/- 7.8 mmHg and cardiac index of 1.9 +/- 0.4 l/min/m (2). Duration of support ranged from 6 to 238 days. Right heart catheterization showed significant hemodynamic improvement in the short- and intermediate-term after implantation with increases in arterial pressure from 72.6 +/- 11.0 to 79.4 +/- 8.6 mmHg ( P = 0.04) and in cardiac index from 2.0 +/- 0.4 to 2.7 +/- 0.6 l/min/m (2) ( P = 0.003) with a reduction in pulmonary capillary wedge pressure from 28.5 +/- 6.0 to 19.7 +/- 6.9 mmHg ( P = 0.012).

CONCLUSIONS

The CircuLite Synergy device is a partial support pump, which is easy to implant and which provides hemodynamic benefits in bridging heart failure patients to cardiac transplant.