Advanced Heart Failure Therapies for Cancer Therapeutics-Related Cardiac Dysfunction.

End-stage heart failure in cancer survivors may result from cardiotoxic chemotherapy and/or chest radiation and require advanced therapies, including left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) and transplantation. Traditionally, such therapies have been underutilized in cancer survivors owing to lack of experience and perceived risk of cancer recurrence. Recent data from large registries, however, have shown excellent outcomes of LVADs and transplantation in cancer survivors, albeit subject to careful selection and special considerations.

Presence of Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillators and Wait-List Mortality of Patients Supported with Left Ventricular Assist Devices as Bridge to Heart Transplantation.

Background: The role of implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) in reducing mortality in patients with left ventricular assisted devices (LVADs) listed for heart transplant remains unclear. We therefore, sought to interrogate whether ICDs are associated with reduced mortality in patients with LVADs listed for heart transplantation.

Methods: We searched the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) Registry for LVAD patients (age≥18years) with dilated cardiomyopathies listed for heart transplantation (2008-2015).

Maximizing anthracycline tolerability in hematologic malignancies: Treat to each heart's content.

Anthracyclines are the cornerstone of therapy for a wide spectrum of malignancies and have improved patient survival. Concern for anthracycline-related cardiotoxicity often leads to dose reductions or use of second-line regimens, which may adversely impact survival. Development of cardiotoxicity depends on a combination of cumulative dose modulated by individual patient characteristics, which we have termed individual cardiotoxic threshold (ICT).

Percutaneous left ventricular restoration.

The ventricular partitioning device known as Parachute is the first and only percutaneously implantable device aimed at restoration of normal left ventricular geometry in humans. Since its conception, this technology has undergone extensive animal and human testing, with proved feasibility and safety, and is currently being studied in a pivotal randomized clinical trial. This article discusses ventricular remodeling and therapies attempted in the past, details the components of the ventricular partitioning device, describes the implanting technique, and reviews the most current experience of this device in humans.