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Updated: Mar 5, 2026

Point-of-Care Ultrasound for Peripheral Veno-Arterial Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Without Left Ventricular Venting
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Point-of-Care Ultrasound for Peripheral Veno-Arterial Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Without Left Ventricular Venting

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Normal Lower Extremity Duplex Findings in Patients with Left Ventricular Assist Devices: A Basis for Vascular

Sheena K Harris1, Matthew Roos1, Jeffrey Crawford1

  • 1Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR.

Annals of Vascular Surgery
|March 26, 2017
PubMed

Insights

Left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation significantly alters lower extremity arterial duplex (LEAD) findings, showing decreased peak systolic velocities and increased acceleration times. These results provide a baseline for interpreting LEAD in LVAD patients.

Area of Science:

  • Vascular Medicine
  • Cardiovascular Surgery
  • Diagnostic Imaging

Background:

  • Left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) are known to affect carotid artery flow velocity waveforms.
  • The impact of LVADs on lower extremity arterial duplex (LEAD) findings remains uncharacterized.
  • Establishing normal LEAD parameters in LVAD patients is crucial for accurate vascular laboratory interpretation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To characterize LEAD findings in patients with LVADs.
  • To compare LEAD parameters between LVAD patients and a control group.
  • To provide a reference for interpreting LEAD in the context of LVAD support.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective review of LEAD studies performed after LVAD implantation (2003-2014).
  • Comparison of peak systolic velocities (PSVs) in lower extremity arteries (CFA, SFA, popliteal, PTA) between LVAD patients and controls.
  • Measurement of arterial brachial index (ABI), common femoral artery (CFA) acceleration time (AT), and end-diastolic velocity (EDV).

Main Results:

  • LVAD patients exhibited significantly decreased PSVs in all measured lower extremity arteries compared to controls (P < 0.001).
  • Average ABI was higher in LVAD extremities (1.17 ± 0.35) than in controls (0.91 ± 0.05) (P < 0.001).
  • Mean CFA acceleration time was markedly increased in LVAD patients (207 ms) versus controls (97 ms) (P < 0.001).

Conclusions:

  • This study provides the first characterization of LEAD findings in lower extremity arteries of LVAD patients.
  • Significant reductions in PSV and increases in CFA acceleration time are characteristic of LVAD support.
  • These findings establish a basis for identifying normal LEAD results in patients with LVADs.
Abstract

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