Key result
LVAD patient with VF on ECG uniquely shows organized contractility and rhythmic mitral opening on echo.
Why the study?
Ventricular arrhythmias remain highly prevalent in advanced heart failure and may impair CF-LVAD support, leading to frequent hospitalizations and interventions.
Case Report (n=1)
Echocardiographic findings of organized contractility can be misleading in CF-LVAD patients experiencing ventricular fibrillation on ECG.
Echocardiographic contractility assessment may mislead in CF-LVAD patients with VF; this case leaves open validation of arrhythmia-specific imaging criteria.
Sustained ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation (VF) are life-threatening arrhythmias which remain highly prevalent in patients with advanced heart failure. These ventricular arrhythmias may impair the support provided by CF-LVADs and lead to frequent hospitalizations, antiarrhythmic medication use, external defibrillations, and need for heart transplantation. We report a case in which a patient with a CF-LVAD and an ICD at end-of-life (EOL) presented with asymptomatic low-flow alarms and was found to have VF of unknown duration. Unique in our case was the presence of organized contractility and rhythmic opening of the mitral valve on echocardiogram despite VF on ECG.
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Singh et al. (2020) conducted a case report in Ventricular Fibrillation in a CF-LVAD patient (n=1). Echocardiogram and ECG observation was evaluated on Echocardiographic findings during ventricular fibrillation. A patient with a continuous-flow left ventricular assist device and ventricular fibrillation on ECG uniquely demonstrated organized contractility and rhythmic mitral valve opening on echocardiogram.
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