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Twelve Hours of Sustained Ventricular Fibrillation Supported by a Continuous‐Flow Left Ventricular Assist Device
Author(s) -
SIMS DANIEL B.,
ROSNER GREGG,
URIEL NIR,
GONZÁLEZCOSTELLO JOSÉ,
EHLERT FREDERICK A.,
JORDE ULRICH P.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
pacing and clinical electrophysiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.686
H-Index - 101
eISSN - 1540-8159
pISSN - 0147-8389
DOI - 10.1111/j.1540-8159.2011.03159.x
Subject(s) - medicine , hemodynamics , cardiology , ventricle , ventricular fibrillation , ventricular assist device , continuous flow , heart failure , physics , mechanics
Left ventricular assist device (LVAD) therapy improves survival and quality of life by mechanically unloading the left ventricle and maintaining hemodynamics in patients with end‐stage heart failure. LVADs can also be lifesaving by maintaining hemodynamics during ventricular arrhythmia. Continuous‐flow LVADs have become the preferred LVAD technology. As presented here, a continuous‐flow LVAD successfully provided hemodynamic support to a patient in sustained ventricular fibrillation for over 12 hours when the internal defibrillator was unable to terminate the arrhythmia. This case demonstrates that continuous‐flow LVADs can be lifesaving in the setting of otherwise certain hemodynamic collapse from sustained ventricular fibrillation. (PACE 2012; 35:e144–e148)