Percutaneous ventricular support can help to maintain blood flow and blood pressure during high-risk heart procedures and/or when the heart suddenly cannot pump enough blood and goes into cardiogenic shock.
In fiscal year 2015-2016, an estimated 355 patients in Ontario received percutaneous ventricular support for high-risk percutaneous coronary intervention or for management of cardiogenic shock.
This review compared the Impella devices against intra-aortic balloon pumps and/or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in high-risk percutaneous coronary intervention and cardiogenic shock.
Health Quality Ontario Reviews Percutaneous Ventricular Assist Devices
The Impella device is a percutaneous ventricular assist device that has a small pump at one end of a thin, flexible tube. It is implanted into the heart through an artery in the leg and pumps blood from the left ventricle through the heart valve into a blood vessel called the ascending aorta.
The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care endorses this recommendation.
The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care has provided the following response: The Ministry agrees with this recommendation and encourages physicians and hospitals to consider HQO’s evidence-informed advice on this topic as an element in their clinical decision-making.