Abstract

Cardiovascular diseases are recognized as the main cause of death worldwide, primarily related to heart failure. Owing to insufficient amount of eligible organs for heart transplant annually, various mechanical circulatory support devices as ventricular assist devices (VAD) and total artificial hearts have been developed and introduced in the market. VAD utilization as a mean of stabilizing congestive heart failure patients or as a bridge-to-transplant has increased dramatically over the past few years. In particular, rotary VADs offer the advantages of smaller dimension and simpler structures with respect to pulsatile VADs; however the continuous high-speed rotating blood flow patterns generated are a potential risk factor for adverse events, including thrombus formation, thromboembolic complications and device malfunction. Pump thrombosis is one of the main causes for device malfunction, and patients are exposed to the risk of sudden death or the risks involved in complex device replacement surgery.