BACKGROUND:The IMACS Registry compiles and analyzes worldwide data from patients undergoing implantation of durable left ventricular assist devices. METHODS: Data encompassing 16,286 LVAD recipients from 4 collectives and 24 individual hospitals was collected and analyzed. In this 3rd annual report we compare and contrast outcomes, adverse events and risks factors between axial flow and centrifugal flow device recipients. RESULTS: Significant differences were found in the baseline characteristics of axial vs centrifugal flow LVAD recipients. Survival was similar between pump types. INTERMACS profile 1-3 constitute 85% of implants. A survival gap persists in destination therapy compared to bridge patients. RVAD need and delay impact survival dramatically. Centrifugal flow outperforms axial flow recipients in regards to GI bleeding and freedom from hemocompatibility related adverse events. No significant difference in the actuarial freedom from all strokes or either stroke subtype (hemorrhagic or ischemic) was seen among the two types of pumps. New end points to guide decision making are proposed. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrate a transition from axial to centrifugal flow with four-year survival that approximates 60%. A high frequency of adverse events remains an impediment to the wider adoption of these technologies. In the future, composite study endpoints examining life quality and adverse events beyond survival may help in shared decision making prior to MCS implant, and may provide the requisite data to support extension of MCS therapy into the lesser ill heart failure population.

Return to daily life Early mobilization program Comprehensive CR (disease management program) Discharge from hospital, Return to home Maintain comfortable life, Prevention of recurrence Returning to society-workforce, Establish new healthy lifestyle Inpatient rehabilitation program (CCU/ICU/ward) *Notation of corporation is omitted.

This initial report from J-MACS focuses on patients' demographics, device types, survival, competing outcomes, adverse events and successful examples of system failure detection.

AimsPatients with fulminant myocarditis (FM) often present with cardiogenic shock and require mechanical circulatory support, including extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) and ventricular assist device (VAD) implantation. This study sought to clarify the determinants of successful weaning from ECMO in FM patients.Methods and resultsWe studied 37 consecutive FM patients supported by ECMO as the initial form of mechanical circulatory support between January 1995 and December 2014 in our hospital. Twenty‐two (59%) patients were successfully weaned from ECMO, while 15 (41%) were not. There were significant differences in levels of peak creatine kinase and those of its MB isoform (CK‐MB), left ventricular posterior wall thickness (LVPWT), and prevalence of cardiac rhythm disturbances. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis revealed that a peak CK‐MB level of 185 IU/L and LVPWT of 11 mm were the optimal cut‐off values for predicting successful weaning from ECMO (areas under the curve, 0.89 and 0.85, respectively). During the follow‐up [median 48 (interquartile range 8–147) months], 83% of FM patients who were weaned from ECMO survived, with preserved fractional shortening based on echocardiography. Of the 15 FM patients who were not weaned from ECMO, nine bridged to VAD, and only two were successfully weaned from VAD and survived.ConclusionsThese results indicate that myocardial injury, as evidenced by CK‐MB and LVPWT, and prolonged presence of cardiac rhythm disturbances are important clinical determinants of successful weaning from ECMO.

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