BACKGROUND Prognosis and mode of death in heart failure patients are highly variable in that some patients die suddenly (often from ventricular arrhythmia) and others die of progressive failure of cardiac function (pump failure). Prediction of mode of death may facilitate decisions about specific medications or devices. METHODS AND RESULTS We used the Seattle Heart Failure Model (SHFM), a val...

INTRODUCTION European System for Cardiac Operative Risk Evaluation (EuroSCORE) has been used to predict the postoperative mortality rate for patients undergoing open-heart surgery. The contributions of EuroSCORE in off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) has not yet clearly elucidated. METHODS Consecutive patients of isolated off-pump CABG performed from 2000 when we start performing ...

Electrical failure during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) has previously been reported to occur in 1 of every 1500 cases. Most heart-lung machine pump consoles are equipped with built-in battery back-up units. Battery run times of these devices are variable and have not been reported. Different conditions of use can extend battery life in the event of electrical failure. This study was designed to...

in this approach, the left ventricular assist pump for patients with left ventricular failure isused. the failure of the left ventricle is the most common heart disease during these days. inthis article, a state feedback controller method is used to optimize the efficiency of a samplingpump current. particle swarm algorithm, which is a set of rules to update the position andvelocity, is applied...

Pump thrombosis is a serious complication of continuous-flow left ventricular assist devices (LVAD). Treatment options include medical thrombolysis, surgical pump exchange or urgent heart transplantation. We are reporting a case of pump thrombosis with active hemolysis and acute renal failure managed surgically by isolating the LVAD while awaiting renal recovery and donor heart availability.

We studied the hemodynamic effects of isosorbide dinitrate administered by continuous i.v. infusion to 22 patients with chronic refractory pump failure and 18 with pump failure due to acute myocardial infarction. In patients with severe pump failure, i.v. ISDN markedly decreased pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (p less than 0.001), moderately increased cardiac output (p less than 0.01), and d...

Left ventricular assist devices are becoming an established treatment for end-stage heart failure. In spite of their proven benefit, pump thrombosis remains a significant complication. Here we describe the challenging management of a patient with recurrent pump thrombosis.

BACKGROUND inhibition of L-type Ca(2+) current contributes to negative inotropy of β(3) adrenergic receptor (β(3) AR) activation, but effects on other determinants of excitation-contraction coupling are not known. Of these, the Na(+)-K(+) pump is of particular interest because of adverse effects attributed to high cardiac myocyte Na(+) levels and upregulation of the β(3) AR in heart failure. ...