Estimation of left ventricular pressure in patients with a continuous flow LVAD

Once combined with a focused clinical study we infer that left ventricular pressure in LVAD supported patients can be monitored sufficiently reliably in case pump flow and aortic pressure are measured. This will give a good indication for unloading of the ventricle and native heart function, in case of recovery of the heart or destination therapy during long-term support. Figure 1 Experimental set-up of the ex vivo porcine heart model supported with a Heartmate II VAD. A similar set-up was used for the measurements on the hearts supported with a Micromed DeBakey VAD.