Clinical implication of left ventricular preload and afterload reduction during venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation

VenoArterial ExtraCorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (VA-ECMO) provides blood oxygenation and end-organ perfusion in patients with cardiogenic shock, and has shown to have benefits on refractory cardiogenic shock [1], percutaneous coronary intervention for ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction with refractory cardiogenic shock [2], and coronary artery bypass grafting [3]. However, VA-ECMO is also known to increase left ventricular (LV) afterload, leading to LV distension and pulmonary congestion [4].
Source: International Journal of Cardiology - Category: Cardiology Authors: Tags: Editorial Source Type: research