title: LVAD as a Bridge to Heart Transplantation in a Patient with Left Ventricular Noncompaction Cardiomyopathy and Advanced Heart Failure.
abstract: Left ventricular noncompaction cardiomyopathy (LVNC) is a rare hereditary cardiomyopathy characterized by the formation of an outer compacted and inner noncompacted layer of the myocardium. The latter is characterized by prominent trabeculations and deep intertrabecular recesses and is functionally inferior to the compacted myocardium. As there is no specific treatment for patients with LVNC who develop heart failure, the management of these patients is limited and many patients progress to advanced stages of the disease. For LVNC patients with advanced heart failure, the data regarding the use of mechanical circulatory support are scarce. We report a case of a 29-year-old patient with LVNC and advanced refractory heart failure, who was successfully bridged to heart transplantation using a long-term continuous-flow left ventricular assist device.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Advanced Heart Failure and Transplantation Center,University Medical Center, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
authors.forename: Andraž
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cerar
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, University Medical Center, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
authors.forename: Juš
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kšela
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Advanced Heart Failure and Transplantation Center,University Medical Center, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
authors.forename: Gregor
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Poglajen
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Advanced Heart Failure and Transplantation Center,University Medical Center, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
authors.forename: Bojan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Vrtovec
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, University Medical Center, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
authors.forename: Ivan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kneževič
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D009202:Cardiomyopathies / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery / Q000628:therapy*; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery / Q000628:therapy*; D016027:Heart Transplantation; D006353:Heart-Assist Devices; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male