The Pulse of ACC | A new expert consensus statement provides new guidance for physicians in matching new percutaneous mechanical circulatory system (MCS) devices to patients for the treatment of heart failure. The statement, released by the ACC, the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions, the Heart Failure Society of America and The Society of Thoracic Surgeons, was simultaneously published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. According to the statement, percutaneous MCS provides superior hemodynamic support compared to medical therapy. MCS can also be beneficial to high-risk percutaneous coronary intervention patients and certain patients with acute decompensated heart failure with worsening symptoms. Patients in cardiogenic shock may also benefit from early MCS placement when initial interventions do not stabilize the patient. Finally, MCS can also be used in patients who failed to wean off cardio-pulmonary bypass. The statement reports that, “there are insufficient data to support or refute the notion that routine use of MCS as an adjunct to primary revascularization in the setting of large acute myocardial infarction is useful in reducing reperfusion injury or infarct size.”

Keywords: Cardiology Magazine, ACC Publications

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