Adverse neurologic events in patients bridged with long-term mechanical circulatory support: A device-specific comparative analysis.

Background: Neurologic complications are among the principal causes of morbidity and mortality after continuous-flow left ventricular assist device (CF-LVAD) implantation. The aim of this study was to describe a focused "real-world" multicenter comparison of neurologic outcomes between HeartMate II (HMII) and HeartWare HVAD CF-LVAD recipients.

Methods: Between March 2009 and October 2014, 497 patients underwent primary CF-LVAD implantation as a bridge to transplantation at centers included in the Mechanical Circulatory Support Research Network; 314 patients (63%) received HMII, and 183 patients (37%) received HVAD. Ischemic cerebrovascular accident, hemorrhagic cerebrovascular accident, and transient ischemic attack were the neurologic outcomes assessed.

Results: Median follow-up time for HMII recipients was 0.95 years (0.48, 1.85, range) and for HVAD recipients was 0.44 years (0.19, 0.97, range) (p < 0.001). HMII recipients had significantly fewer neurologic events per patient year for ischemic cerebrovascular accident (0.071) and transient ischemic attack (0.012) compared with HVAD recipients (0.157 and 0.072, respectively). Univariate analysis showed that 51 HMII recipients (16%) had any neurologic event, whereas 34 HVAD recipients (19%) had any neurologic event (p = 0.504). After adjusting for pre-specified covariates (device type, age, sex, atrial fibrillation, diabetes, and Interagency Registry for Mechanically Assisted Circulatory Support profile), multivariable analysis showed only advanced age was able to predict neurologic events (p = 0.02). Neurologic events were comparable between HMII and HVAD recipients after multivariable analysis.

Conclusions: CF-LVAD placement incurs a low but significant risk of neurologic complications in patients receiving CF-LVADs as a bridge to transplantation. Advancing age is a risk factor for any adverse neurologic outcome. This multicenter analysis demonstrated comparable hazard of adverse neurologic events among patients implanted with HMII or HVAD.