Interagency Registry for Mechanically Assisted Circulatory Support (INTERMACS): what have we learned and what will we learn?

The Interagency Registry for Mechanically Assisted Circulatory Support (INTERMACS) is a North American national registry for mechanical circulatory support devices (MCSDs) that are used to treat advanced heart failure. Durable MCSDs that have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are included in this registry; however, MCSDs that remain in FDA trials pending initial approval (ie, investigational device exemption [IDE] trials) and devices intended for short-term use (eg, Abiomed BVS 5000 ventricular assist device [Abiomed, Danvers, MA]) are not included. The purposes of this article are to present a developmental history of INTERMACS, to outline the collaboration of INTERMACS with various constituencies (eg, FDA, National Institutes of Health, Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services, industry, and physicians), to present a summary of information generated to date by INTERMACS, and to describe the future directions of INTERMACS.