Mechanical circulatory support of the failing heart has become an important means of treating end-stage heart disease. This rapidly growing therapeutic field has produced impressive clinical outcomes and has great potential to help thousands of otherwise terminal patients worldwide. In this review, we examine the state of the art of mechanical circulatory support: current practice, totally implantable systems of the future, evolving biventricular support mechanisms, the potential for myocardial recovery and adjunctive treatment methods, and miniaturized devices with expanded indications for therapy.
Keywords: Assisted circulation/instrumentation; device removal; equipment design; heart failure/therapy; heart-assist devices/trends/utilization; patient selection; recovery of function; treatment outcome; ventricular dysfunction, left/therapy; ventricular function/physiology.