No abstract

Background-Adverse events (AEs), such as intracranial hemorrhage, thromboembolic event, and progressive aortic insufficiency, create substantial morbidity and mortality during continuous flow left ventricular assist device support yet their relation to blood pressure control is underexplored.

No abstract

Heart failure is epidemic in the United States with a prevalence of over 5 million. The diagnosis carries a mortality risk of 50% at 5 years rivaling many diagnoses of cancer. Heart transplantation, long the “gold standard” treatment for end stage heart failure unresponsive to maximal medical therapy falls way short of meeting the need with only about 2,000 transplants performed annually in the United States due to donor limitation. Left ventricular devices have emerged as a viable option for patients as both a “bridge to transplantation” and as a final “destination therapy”.