Early Insertion of Axillary Impella® With VA ECMO

Brief summary

Reproduced verbatim from the official ClinicalTrials.gov record. Not medical advice.

Veno-arterial extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) is used as a rescue strategy for patients in acute hemodynamic deterioration such as cardiogenic shock and cardiopulmonary arrest with severe pulmonary congestion. VA ECMO is the fastest way to stabilize a patient with cardiogenic shock and improve end-organ perfusion. However, one of the major disadvantages of peripheral VA-ECMO is that it provides no left ventricular unloading and increases left ventricular (LV) afterload secondary to the retrograde blood flow. Therefore, LV wall tension and myocardial oxygen demand may actually increase in the setting of VA ECMO. The Impella® device is a miniature rotary blood pump which can be inserted retrograde across the aortic valve. In this configuration, it withdraws blood from the LV and ejects it into the ascending aorta. It unloads the left ventricle, reducing LV wall tension and myocardial oxygen demand and increasing myocardial blood flow. The Impella® 5.0 is an FDA approved pump designed for intermediate support in patients with severe, cardiogenic shock. The axillary positioning allows for early extubation and ambulation and is more stable than groin placement. In present practice, the decision to place an Impella® pump in VA-ECMO patients is based on the perceived need for direct LV unloading or when a bridge device is required to transition off ECMO support. Patients with peripheral VA ECMO are managed with inotropic agents at the beginning and once patients develop pulmonary edema mechanical LV unloading is considered electively. The advantage of LV unloading with Impella® has been demonstrated in recent studies. We also reported that concomitant implantation of Impella® with VA ECMO for LV unloading resulted in improved survival and recovery of ventricular performance in patients with cardiogenic shock. Compared to delayed elective LV unloading, early LV unloading could lead to decreased pulmonary edema, improved oxygenation delivery to the myocardium, increased chance of LV recovery and improved survival. The objective of this prospective study is to assess whether the early direct ventricular unloading using axillary Impella® leads to higher rates of cardiac recovery, defined as survival free from mechanical circulatory support, heart transplantation or inotropic support at thirty days, compared with the conventional, elective placement of Impella® after developing significant pulmonary congestion.

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Last update posted Jun 28, 2021 · Synced Sep 6, 2026

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