Cardiac Assist Impella® Heart Pumps
A new innovation in cardiology at Sansum Clinic is the Impella® system, called “the world’s smallest heart pump.” The Impella system is a heart pump that maintains blood flow to the brain and other vital organs during heart procedures such as stent placement or TAVR (transcatheter aortic valve replacement). The pump can be inserted within five minutes or less and is used in procedures that have been scheduled as well as in emergency situations.
Our interventional cardiologist places the Impella system using a cardiac catheter, through a small incision in the patient’s femoral artery in the groin area. The catheter is guided through the arteries and the pump is positioned into the heart’s left ventricle where it pumps blood to reduce strain on the heart and supply blood to vital organs. The device helps to maintain stable heart function by pulling blood from the left lower chamber of the heart (left ventricle) and pumping it into the aorta, the main blood vessel leading away from the heart. It is removed after the procedure so that normal heart function can resume.