WASHINGTON — Receipt of a left ventricular assist device at an older age may adversely affect long-term, but not short-term survival with the device, Evgenij V. Potapov, M.D., reported at the annual conference of the American Society for Artificial Internal Organs.
In a review of 403 patients who have received left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) at the German Heart Institute in Berlin since 1987, the 116 patients who were older than 60 years were 2.5 times more likely to have a negative long-term outcome after LVAD implantation than were the younger patients.
Negative long-term outcomes included no heart transplantation, an inability to wean off the LVAD within 6 months, support for less than 6 months in patients with permanent implants, and failure to continue support for more than 6 months in other patients, said Dr. Potapov, a cardiothoracic surgeon at the institute.
No risk factor significantly predicted a negative long-term outcome in patients older than age 60.
“Postcardiotomy support in older patients should be performed in really selective cases,” he said.
All age groups (younger than 18 years, 18–40 years, 41–60 years, and older than 60 years) had similar short-term outcomes for 30-day survival, heart transplantation, and weaning from LVAD during the first 30 days.