Percutaneous left ventricular assist device, TandemHeart, for high-risk percutaneous coronary revascularization. A single centre experience.

Patients with severe depression of left ventricular ejection fraction and high-risk coronary lesions are at risk of developing complications during percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI). Intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) is a support that helps the interventionalist in such hemodynamic complications during high-risk PCI, but it does not offer complete circulatory support. Instead, TandemHeart (Cardiac Assist, Pittsburg, PA, USA) is a percutaneous left ventricular assist device (pLVAD) that gives total left circulatory support and can be used for patients in cardiogenic shock or for elective PCI at high-risk.