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Updated: Mar 31, 2026
Integration of Brain Tissue Saturation Monitoring in Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing in Patients with Heart Failure
Published on: October 1, 2019
Cardiopulmonary exercise testing responses to different external portable drivers in a patient with a CardioWest
Vincenzo Tarzia1, Fausto Braccioni2, Giacomo Bortolussi3
1Division of Cardiac Surgery, Department of Cardiac, Thoracic and Vascular Sciences, University of Padova Medical School, Via Giustiniani 2, 35128, Padua, Italy. v.tarzia@gmail.com.
Abstract:
Management of patients treated with CardioWest Total Artificial Heart (CW-TAH) as a bridge to heart transplantation (HTx) is complicated by difficulties in determining the optimal timing of transplantation. We present a case of a 53-year-old man supported as an outpatient with a CW-TAH, whose condition deteriorated following exchange of the portable driver. The patient was followed-up with serial cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) which demonstrated a fall of peak VO2 to below 12 ml/kg/min following driver substitution, and the patient was subsequently treated with urgent orthotopic HTx. This case highlights the potential utility of CPET as a means for monitoring and indicating timing of HTx in patients with CW-TAH, as well as the potential for clinical deterioration following portable driver substitution.
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