This results in almost immediate and sustained unloading of the left ventricle, while increasing overall systemic cardiac output.
The device pumps blood from left ventricle into ascending aorta and helps to maintain a systemic circulation at an upper rate between 2.5 and 5.0 L/min. Using a retrograde femoral artery access, it is placed in the left ventricle across the aortic valve. The Impella device is a catheter-based miniaturized ventricular assist device.
