Use of mechanical circulatory support in cases of end-stage acute heart failure

Mailing address: Alexandre Siciliano Colafranceschi • Rua Dona Mariana 143 S/A 12 – 22280-020 – Rio de Janeiro, RJ Brasil E-mail: asiciliano@cardiosuporte.com.br Manuscript received November 15, 2006; revised manuscript received March 1, 2007; accepted April 5, 2007. Introducao The incidence of cardiogenic shock following acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is 7.5%, with a lethality of 60% to 80%1. Mortality among these patients remains high even when revascularization of the responsible artery is performed immediately1,2. Within this context, the use of mechanical ventricular support seems to improve the surgical results and long-term survival2,3. The aim of this study is to report the initial experiences with the left ventricular assist device (VAD) EXCOR® (Berlin Heart).