Right heart failure syndrome

Left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation have become a standard therapy for selected patients with advanced heart failure (HF). Especially for older patients with end-stage HF who are deemed ineligible for heart transplantation, LVAD therapy has become their last resort. Though the survival of these patients on LVAD support is superior to optimal medical therapy, the use of LVAD is associated with high morbidity and mortality. Common complications include infection, bleeding, neurologic events, and right-sided heart failure (RHF). The latter has been shown in a cecent analysis of the largest European LVAD registry, the European registry of mechanical circulatory support (EUROMACS), to be prevalent in over 20% of patients in the early post-operative phase. RHF is furthermore, associated with an 18% excess in mortality at one year after LVAD implantation [1]