Sa1680 Predictive Risk Factors for Postoperative Gastrointestinal Bleeding in Patients Receiving Left Ventricular Assist Devices

Left ventricular assist devices (LVAD) have emerged as an effective way to provide hemodynamic support for patients with advanced heart failure. Gastrointestinal hemorrhage is an important condition that may develop in LVAD patients and may influence decision making in maintaining safe anticoagulation of LVAD patients. Mechanism of increased risk of bleeding is likely multifactorial, mainly due to long-term anticoagulation. High flow shear stress and low pulse pressure in the new devices can lead to the development of angiodysplasia in the GI tract as well as to the development of acquired von Willebrand disease from impaired vW factor function. Currently, there are no reliable preoperative guidelines to risk stratify postoperative GI bleeding in patients undergoing LVAD placement. Our aim is to develop a predictive risk model that we hope can effectively identify those patients with highest risk for postoperative gastrointestinal bleeding.