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Question
57 year old male presents with a cough. The CXR is shown below. What's the diagnosis?
Answer
Answer: Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD)
An LVAD is a mechanical pump that pulls blood from the left ventricle and pumps it to the ascending aorta for systemic delivery; LVADs are increasingly being placed in patients with heart failure so you must be aware of them.
The three indications for an LVAD are:
- Bridge to cardiac transplant
- Temporizing measure when a reversible cardiac disease (e.g., myocarditis) exists
- Destination therapy; patients ineligible for cardiac transplant who would otherwise die from heart failure
There are several models, which have been implanted in people (http://www.mylvad.com/lvad-devices). The main distinction between devices are pulsatile or non-pulsatile (or linear) flow; newer generation devices are non-pulsatile.
Patients with LVAD may develop complications such as infections, arrhythmias, or anemia, but bleeding can be a life-threatening one; bleeding occurs secondary to an acquired von Willebrand factor deficiency, AVMs within the GI tract, or secondary to over anti-coagulation (typically with Warfarin).
References
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