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Updated: Jun 18, 2025

Insertion, Maintenance, and Removal of the Percutaneous Dual Lumen Cannula Right Ventricular Assist Device
Published on: July 20, 2022
Management of Pulmonary Hypertension in Patients on Left Ventricular Assist Device Support
Mahmoud Salem1,2, Farah Al-Saffar1, Shelley Hall1
1Center for Advanced Heart and Lung Diseases, Baylor University Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75246, USA.
Abstract:
Left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) are increasingly utilized for patients with end-stage heart failure (HF). Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is highly prevalent in this patient population mainly due to prolonged left ventricular (LV) failure and chronically elevated filling pressures. The effect of LVADs on pulmonary circulation and right ventricular (RV) function has recently become an area of great attention in literature. PH can lead to post-LVAD right ventricular failure (RVF) that confers a high risk of morbidity and mortality. Multiple pulmonary vasodilators, that are primarily used for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), have been studied for the treatment of PH after LVAD implantation, and some of them have shown promising results. This review aims to investigate the treatment options for PH in patients on LVADs, as well as to give an overview about the pathophysiology of PH and RVF in these patients.
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