Cardiogenic shock after
myocardial infarction has a high
mortality even if early revascularization is achieved. Biventricular assist
devices have not been used in
Chile in this critical setting. We
report a case of a 55 year-old diabetic man
who suffered an acute
chest pain and
ventricular fibrillation . Prompt outside
hospital defibrillation/ reanimation restored
pulse and allowed
emergency room transfer on
mechanical ventilation .
Electrocardiogram showed an anterior
myocardial infarction and early revascularization was achieved by anterior descending
artery angioplasty . However, severe
cardiogenic shock continued in spite of inotropic and intra aortic balloon pump support. Levitronix Centrimag® biventricular mechanical circulatory support was inserted during reanimation for recurrent
ventricular fibrillation and the
patient listed for urgent
cardiac transplantation upon stabilization.
Heart transplantation was performed successfully 28 days later and the
patient was discharged after a 21-day recovery period. Twelve months after
transplant the
patient is in NYHA functional class I with normal biventricular function. Levitronix Centrimag® biventricular mechanical circulatory support could be used successfully as a
bridge -to-
transplant for
myocardial infarction cardiogenic shock .