High-Risk "Protected" Percutaneous Coronary Intervention with Mechanical Circulatory Support in a Non-Surgical Center...

High-risk "protected" percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) using mechanical circulatory support (MCS) devices, particularly the Impella axial pump, has emerged as a viable treatment option for high-risk patients with satisfactory clinical outcomes. High-risk and complex interventions have mostly remained within the domain of surgical centers. We report on an early "protected" PCI experience using MCS with the Impella flow pump at a high-volume PCI hospital without on-site surgery. A total of 5 patients underwent elective "protected" PCI utilizing MCS with Impella at our institution. The mean left ventricular ejection fraction was 28 ± 10% and all patients had triple vessel coronary artery disease with the majority having a high SYNTAX score. Device implantation and procedural success were achieved in all cases with no intraprocedural or access site complications. All patients were alive at 30 days and clinically well. The Impella unloads the ventricle, improves forward cardiac output and lowers myocardial oxygen demand, thereby improving mean arterial pressure and coronary perfusion. Device insertion is relatively quick and the "learning curve" is short, centering mainly around managing large bore access. Our limited experience suggests that not only is high-risk PCI with Impella support feasible in a non-surgical center, but that it may be crucial to enable success.