Temporary Cardiac Support Device Enables Native Recovery

An innovative heart pump assists heart attack or cardiomyopathy patients in cardiogenic shock for up to six hours.

The Abiomed (Danvers, MA, USA) Impella CP heart pump with SmartAssist is a miniature blood pump with an optical sensor that helps support stable heart function and circulation during certain high-risk percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) procedures performed in elective surgery or in urgent, hemodynamically stable patients with severe coronary artery disease (CAD). During PCI, the Impella CP heart pump pulls blood from the left ventricle through an inlet area near the tip and expels it into the ascending aorta, increasing blood flow and helping to maintain stable heart function.


Throughout the procedure, the system pumps blood into the aorta at rates of up to 2.5 L/min. An external controller and monitor turn the pump on and off, measures heart function, and allows health care providers to adjust the pump as necessary to maintain stable heart function and blood circulation during PCI. The temporary circulatory support provided could help prevent the hemodynamic instability resulting from repeated episodes of reversible myocardial ischemia that occur during the temporary coronary occlusions, and may also reduce peri- and post-procedural adverse events.

The included SmartAssist optical sensor is designed to identify the exact position of the Impella heart pump, and allows repositioning it without the need for imaging equipment. It also integrates real-time clinical data informatics on the Impella Console, including display of left ventricular pressure (LVP), end-diastolic pressure (EDP), and cardiac power output (CPO). In addition, fast set-up and quick connections simplify patient management by reducing start time by 15%, a key element in the successful treatment of emergency patients in cardiogenic shock.

“Abiomed would like to thank our physicians, technologists, and nurses for their feedback on how to improve the Impella platform. Our scientists, engineers and clinical team are always looking for ways to improve our ease of use, training, and clinical performance,” said Michael Minogue, CEO, president, and chairman of Abiomed. “Through innovation and research, our clinical team will utilize SmartAssist to help our customers achieve our goal to improve outcomes and enable heart recovery for every patient.”

“The ability to view fundamental hemodynamic data such as LVP, EDP, and CPO directly on the Impella console provides critical information for clinical decision-making,” said William O’Neill, MD, medical director of the center for structural heart disease at Henry Ford Hospital (Detroit, MI, USA). “Access to data and real-time pump position improves efficiency for nurses and physicians in the ICU and critical care unit.”

The Impella family of heart pumps also includes the Impella CP, Impella 2.5, Impella 5.0, the Impella LD, and Abiomed's right-side heart pump, the Impella RP device, which is designed for patients experiencing acute right heart failure or decompensation following left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation, myocardial infarction (MI), heart transplant, or open-heart surgery.