Ventricular assist device for a coronavirus disease 2019 ‐affected heart

AbstractCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID ‐19) is challenging the care for cardiovascular patients, resulting in serious consequences with increasing mortality in pre‐diseased heart failure patients. In the current state of the pandemic, the physiopathology of COVID‐19 affecting pre‐diseased hearts and the management of terminal hea rt failure in COVID‐19 patients remain unclear. We outline the findings of a young COVID‐19 patient suffering from idiopathic cardiomyopathy who was treated for acute multi‐organ failure and required cardiac surgery with implantation of a temporary right ventricular and durable left ventricula r assist device (LVAD). For deeper translational insights, we used in‐depth tissue analysis by electron and light sheet fluorescence microscopy revealing evidence for spatial distribution of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 in the heart. This indicates that in‐depth analysis may r epresent a valuable tool in understanding indistinct clinical cases. We conclude that COVID‐19 directly affects pre‐diseased hearts, but the consequences can be treated successfully with LVAD implantation.

Source: ESC Heart Failure - November 20, 2020 Category: Cardiology Authors: Tienush Rassaf, Matthias Totzeck, Amir A. Mahabadi, Ulrike Hendgen ‐Cotta, Sebastian Korste, Stephan Settelmeier, Peter Luedike, Ulf Dittmer, Frank Herbstreit, Thorsten Brenner, Karin Klingel, Mike Hasenberg, Bernd Walkenfort, Matthias Gunz Tags: Case Report Source Type: research