Clinical expert consensus document on the use of percutaneous left ventricular assist devices during complex...

Over the past decade, percutaneous left ventricular assist devices (pLVAD), such as the Impella microaxial flow pump (Abiomed), have been increasingly used to provide haemodynamic support during complex and high-risk revascularisation procedures to reduce the risk of intraprocedural haemodynamic compromise and to facilitate complete and optimal revascularisation. A global consensus on patient selection for the use of pLVADs, however, is currently lacking. Access to these devices is different across the world, thus, individual health care environments need to create and refine patient selection paradigms to optimise the use of these devices. The Impella pLVAD has recently been introduced in India and is being used in several centres in the management of high-risk percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and cardiogenic shock. With this increasing utilisation, there is a need for a standardised evaluation protocol to guide Impella use that factors in the unique economic and infrastructural characteristics of India's health care system to ensure that the needs of patients are optimally managed. In this consensus document, we present an algorithm to guide Impella use in Indian patients: to establish a standardised patient selection and usage paradigm that will allow both optimal patient outcomes and ongoing data collection.