Aortic Valve Function Under Support of a Left Ventricular Assist Device: Continuous vs. Dynamic Speed Support

Selim Bozkurt, Frans N. van de Vosse, Marcel C.M. Rutten

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

8 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Continuous flow left ventricular devices (CF-LVADs) support the failing heart at a constant speed and alters the loads on the aortic valve. This may cause insufficiency in the aortic valve under long-term CF-LVAD support. The aim of this study is to assess the aortic valve function under varying speed CF-LVAD support. A Medtronic freestyle valve and a Micromed DeBakey CF-LVAD were tested in a mock circulatory system. First, the CF-LVAD was operated at constant speeds between 7500 and 11,500 rpm with 1000 rpm intervals. The mean pump outputs obtained from these tests were applied in varying speed CF-LVAD support mode using a reference model for the pump flow. The peak of the instantaneous pump flow was applied at peak systole and mid-diastole, respectively. Ejection durations and in the aortic valve were the longest when the peak pump flow was applied at mid-diastole among the CF-LVAD operating modes. Furthermore, mean aortic valve area over a cardiac cycle was highest when the peak pump flow was applied at mid-diastole. The results show that changing phase of the reference flow rate signal may reduce the effects of the CF-LVADs on altered aortic valve closing behavior, without compromising the overall pump support level.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1727-1737
Number of pages11
JournalAnnals of Biomedical Engineering
Volume43
Issue number8
DOIs
Publication statusPublished (in print/issue) - 25 Aug 2015

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2014, Biomedical Engineering Society.

Keywords

  • Aortic valve
  • Aortic valve area
  • Aortic valve insufficiency
  • CF-LVAD
  • Varying speed CF-LVAD support

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