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Updated: May 30, 2026
The Intra-Aortic Balloon Pump
Published on: February 5, 2021
Intra-aortic balloon counterpulsation in acute myocardial infarction complicated by cardiogenic shock
Andrius Macas1, Tomas Bukauskas, Ilona Šuškevičienė
1Department of Cardiology, Medical Academy, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, Lithuania. andrius.macas@kmuk.lt
Insights
Intra-aortic balloon counterpulsation effectively supports patients with acute myocardial infarction and cardiogenic shock. This study found rare major complications, with successful use linked to fewer issues and lower mortality.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Intensive Care Medicine
- Cardiovascular Interventions
Background:
- Acute myocardial infarction complicated by cardiogenic shock is a leading cause of mortality in critically ill patients.
- Intra-aortic balloon counterpulsation is a primary treatment for acute myocardial infarction with cardiogenic shock.
- Potential complications of aortic counterpulsation include bleeding, thrombosis, thrombocytopenia, limb ischemia, and aortic wall damage.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the clinical course of acute myocardial infarction complicated by cardiogenic shock in patients treated with intra-aortic balloon counterpulsation.
- To identify and determine the incidence of complications associated with intra-aortic balloon counterpulsation in this patient cohort.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of 73 patients (30 women, 43 men) treated with intra-aortic balloon counterpulsation.
- Patients were recruited from the Cardiology Intensive Care Unit between 2004 and 2010.
- Data collected focused on the course of acute myocardial infarction, cardiogenic shock, and counterpulsation-related complications.
Main Results:
- The most frequent cardiac complications were atrial fibrillation and asystolia; atrioventricular block was the predominant conduction disorder.
- Acute renal failure was the most common noncardiac complication.
- No major bleeding, infection, aortic wall damage, or amputations were recorded. Successful percutaneous coronary intervention correlated with reduced complications and mortality.
Conclusions:
- Intra-aortic balloon counterpulsation can be safely and effectively used to provide significant hemodynamic support in high-risk patients.
- The study observed a high rate of successful intra-aortic balloon counterpulsation application with a low incidence of major complications.
- Successful percutaneous coronary intervention may further improve outcomes in patients undergoing intra-aortic balloon counterpulsation.
Unlabelled:
Acute myocardial infarction complicated by cardiogenic shock is one of the main reasons of death in severely ill patients. One of the main indications for intra-aortic balloon counterpulsation is acute myocardial infarction complicated by cardiogenic shock. Aortic counterpulsation is associated with the risk of several important complications: bleeding, thrombosis, thrombocytopenia, limb ischemia, and aortic wall damage. The analysis of complications is necessary to better understand the course of myocardial infarction using aortic counterpulsation and to reduce the risk of complications. The aim of the study was to analyze the course of acute myocardial infarction complicated by cardiogenic shock in patients managed by intra-aortic balloon counterpulsation as well as to determine intra-aortic balloon counterpulsation-related complications.
Material And Methods:
The course of acute myocardial infarction complicated by cardiogenic shock in patients with aortic counterpulsation was analyzed. Patients were recruited from the Cardiology Intensive Care Unit, Department of Cardiology, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, during the period of 2004-2010. The study comprised 73 patients: 30 women (41.1%) and 43 men (58.9%).
Results:
Atrial fibrillation and asystolia were the most common cardiac complications during counterpulsation. Atrioventricular block was the predominant disorder of cardiac conduction system; acute renal failure was the most common noncardiac complication. Complications such as major bleeding, infection, aortic wall damage, or amputations were not documented in our study. Successful percutaneous coronary intervention was associated with fewer complications and reduced mortality rate.
Conclusions:
Aortic counterpulsation may be successfully employed providing significant hemodynamic support with rare major complications in a high-risk patient population. A unique finding of this study is a high rate of successful applications of aortic counterpulsation.
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