Abstract

BUSTAMANTE, John  and  VALBUENA, Javier. Biomechanics of cardiac-circulatory assistance. Insuf. card. [online]. 2010, vol.5, n.2, pp.79-91. ISSN 1852-3862.

Since the transplant as standard procedure for heart failure treatment was established, the few donors' availability turned into biggest limitation in view of the increasing demand. This situation, concomitant with the relevant results obtained with mechanical cardiac-circulatory assist devices (MCCAD), promoted the use of these devices as an option so much to improve the survive as the quality of life of the patients with advanced heart failure. The medical technology offers nowadays a wide range of MCCAD, with diverse characteristics and specifications of application. Which go from the fixings for percutaneous way up to the surgical one, those of transitory use of shortly up to long term, and those of support to a ventricle up to the definitive substitution of the heart. Unfortunately, the advances achieved in the treatment of the heart failure with the mechanical devices have been evaluated only in the physiological environment, leaving of side the biomechanical aspect, for what seems that its therapeutic results not always are successful or are its impediments of application major than the benefits. It is fundamental to do an integral analysis of this cardiac therapy, which includes the biomechanical environment, to understand its functionality and to make use of the potential that these medical devices have showed in the cardiac-circulatory assistance.

Keywords : Heart failure; Cardiac-circulatory assistance; Mechanical devices; Biomechanics.

        · abstract in Spanish | Portuguese     · text in Spanish     · Spanish ( pdf )