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Implantable Continuous Flow Device Feasible for Small Children With Severe Systolic Heart Failure

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on May 10, 2024.

By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

FRIDAY, May 10, 2024 -- The Jarvik 2015 left ventricular assist device (LVAD) seems promising as an implantable continuous flow device for small children with severe systolic heart failure, according to a study published online May 7 in The Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation.

Christopher S. Almond, M.D., M.P.H., from the Stanford University School of Medicine in Palo Alto, California, and colleagues recruited children weighing 8 to 30 kg with severe systolic heart failure and failing optimal medical therapy from seven U.S. centers to describe the initial outcomes of the Jarvik 2015.

The researchers found that the median duration of Jarvik 2015 support was 149 days; all seven children survived: five, one, and one to transplant, recovery, and conversion to a paracorporeal device, respectively. In the setting of myocardial recovery, one patient experienced an ischemic stroke on day 53 of device support. One patient required extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for intractable ventricular arrhythmias and was transplanted from paracorporeal biventricular ventricular assist device support. At seven, 30, 90, and 180 days or time of explant, the median plasma-free hemoglobin was 19, 30, 19, and 30 mg/dL, respectively. All patients reached the primary feasibility endpoint of survival to 30 days without severe stroke or nonoperational device failure. With respect to participation in a full range of activities, patient-reported outcomes with the device were favorable. The study was suspended after consent of the eighth patient due to financial issues with the manufacturer.

"Among children implanted with the Jarvik 2015 LVAD, the median duration of support was 149 days and survival to heart transplant or recovery was favorable," the authors write.

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Posted May 2024

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