IMPLANTABLE HEART ASSIST SYSTEM

摘要

An extracardiac pumping for supplementing the circulation of blood, including the cardiac output, in a patient without any component thereof being connected to the patient's heart, and methods of using same are disclosed. One embodiment of the intravascular extracardiac system (10) comprises a pump (32) with inflow (50) and outflow (52) conduits that are sized and configured to be implantable intravascularly through a non-primary vessel, whereby it may positioned where desired within the patient's vasculature. The system comprises a subcardiac pump that may be driven directly or electromagnetically from within or without the patient. The pump is configured to be operated continuously or in a pulsatile fashion, synchronous with the patient's heart, thereby potentially reducing the afterload of the heart. In another embodiment, the system is positioned extracorporeally, with the inflow conduit and outflow conduit applied percutaneously to a non-primary vessel for circulating blood to and from the non-primary vessel or between the non-primary vessel and another blood vessel within the patient's vasculature.