title: Switch from assist device to total artificial heart to improve cardiac output.
abstract: Left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) offer the opportunity to substantially improve the clinical condition and to interrupt the hospitalization of patients suffering from end-stage heart failure awaiting heart transplantation.We report a case of a 30-year-old patient (body surface area 2.49 m2) suffering from idiopathic dilative cardiomyopathy who was primarily given an LVAD with a free floating impeller pump and was finally switched to a total artificial heart due to the demand for a higher cardiac output.
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, University of Münster, Münster, Germany. juergen.sindermann@ukmuenster.de
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Sindermann
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hoffmeier
authors.forename: T D
authors.initials: TD
authors.lastname: Tjan
authors.forename: H H
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Scheld
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002302:Cardiac Output; D002311:Cardiomyopathy, Dilated / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D016027:Heart Transplantation; D006354:Heart, Artificial; D006353:Heart-Assist Devices; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014850:Waiting Lists