New and developing technologies for ventricular assistance

Abstract

The use of mechanical cardiac support for children with heart failure has increased during the past decade. Ventricular assist devices are now more commonly used to provide perioperative cardiac support and as a bridge to transplantation in a wider range of infants and children with acute and chronic myocardial dysfunction. Although the number of FDA-approved ventricular devices for children remains limited, several novel pediatric devices are being developed as part of the NHLBI-sponsored PumpKIN program. This chapter describes the use of ventricular assist devices in children and reviews the devices that are currently available and additional devices that are currently being developed. The use of intra-aortic balloon pumps in pediatric patients is also reviewed.