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Frequency, risk factors, and clinical outcomes of left ventricular assist device-associated ventricular thrombus

M P Reilly1, S E Wiegers, A J Cucchiara

  • 1Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania Health System, Philadelphia 19014, USA. muredach@spirit.gcrc.upenn.edu.

A retrospective, transesophageal study of 51 consecutive patients receiving a left ventricular (LV) assist device (AD) over a 2-year period showed that LVAD-associated LV thrombosis (16%) was predicted by acute myocardial infarction, atrial cannulation, and postimplantation bleeding, and was associated with a fourfold increased risk of stroke compared with patients without thrombosis. LV cannulation, when using short-term LVADs, may decrease the incidence of LV thrombosis, and early transition to Heartmate-LVAD support may improve outcome.

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