Further Improvement of Exercise Capacity One Year After Implantation of a Cf- Left Ventricular Assist Device

In selected patients with end-stage heart failure, mechanical circulatory support by a continuous flow left ventricular assist device (cf-LVAD) has become a life-saving therapy as a bridge to transplantation or as destination therapy. Nowadays, HeartMate II, HeartMate 3 (Abbott) and HVAD (HeartWare) are most used cf-LVADs. Due to shortage of donor hearts, the number of patients on a cf-LVAD as destination therapy is increasing. Patients on cf-LVAD support have shown improved survival, functional capacity and quality of life. Previous studies in small numbers of patients already showed improved exercise tolerance after cf-LVAD implantation as compared to pre-LVAD implantation, though did not increase after the first few months after the implantation. Especially on longer term support, exercise tolerance is of importance to provide better functional capacity and reintegration into the society. In this study, we compared sequential cardiopulmonary exercise tests (CPET) in a large cohort of cf-LVAD-patients (HM II, HVAD and HM 3) at 3-6 months and 12 months after implantation.