Echocardiographic Evaluation of Cardiac Function and Hemodynamic During LVAD-based Resuscitation in Pigs

Introduction: We have previously shown that primary survival after cardiac arrest (CA) can be improved by optimizing circulation during CPR using a minimal invasive left ventricular assist device (Impella 2.5, iCPR). Whether calculated flow values derived from the Impella Controller during CA are reliable is unknown. Hypothesis: iCPR provides a preservation of right (RV) and left ventricular (LV) function following CA. The transpulmonary flow (TPF) inferred by pulsed-wave Doppler (PWD) during iCPR correlates well with the calculated blood-flow derived from the LVAD controller Methods: Ventricular fibrillation (VF) was electrically induced in 5 anesthetized pigs. Animals were left untreated for 10 minutes before iCPR was attempted. In addition to invasive hemodynamic monitoring, all animals received transesophageal echocardiography at baseline, during untreated cardiac arrest, at the initiation of iCPR, 30 minutes, and 5 hours following ROSC. Results: Preservation of systolic biventricular function within ...