Congestive heart failure. A new milestone for a better life.

ABSTRACT

Congestive heart failure (CHF) represents the 1st cause of death in the civil world. Despite considerable advances in the diagnosis and medical treatment of CHF, this condition remains a real "malignant" disease. The cardiac transplantation (CT) remains "gold standard" option for the treatment of patients with severe CHF in all age group; but only a small number of patients can receive it due to scarcity of donor organs. The increased successful clinical experience with the ventricular assist device (VAD) confirmed the indisputable importance of long-term mechanical circulatory support for patients who suffer acute hemodynamic deterioration. Over the past years, several miniaturized continuous flow VAD have been developed for clinical use. The authors report the data of worldwide and particularly Italian experience about middle and long-term pump performance in patients supported with axial-flow pump MicroMed DeBakey VAD in the bridge to cardiac transplantation setting.