McCulloch Brenda
Sutter Heart and Vascular Institute, Sutter Medical Center, 5301 F Street, Suite 304, Sacramento, CA 95819, USA.
Crit Care Nurse. 2011 Feb;31(1):e1-16. doi: 10.4037/ccn2011293.
The Impella 2.5 is a percutaneously placed partial circulatory assist device that is increasingly being used in high-risk coronary interventional procedures to provide hemodynamic support. The Impella 2.5 is able to unload the left ventricle rapidly and effectively and increase cardiac output more than an intra-aortic balloon catheter can. Potential complications include bleeding, limb ischemia, hemolysis, and infection. One community hospital's approach to establishing a multidisciplinary program for use of the Impella 2.5 is described.