Hemodynamic Effects and Clinical Outcomes of Left Atrial Veno-Arterial Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (LAVA-ECMO) in Cardiogenic Shock

Left atrial veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (LAVA-ECMO) in cardiogenic shock (CS) is a novel mechanical cardiocirculatory support strategy that provides robust cardiocirculatory support and simultaneous left and right atrial venting by way of a multifenestrated transeptal catheter. We performed a single-center retrospective analysis of all patients aged ≥18 years with CS who underwent LAVA-ECMO at a quaternary care institution from 2018 to 2023. Clinical outcomes and prehemodynamics and posthemodynamics were evaluated. A total of 68 patients were analyzed (75% were men, 72% were white, median age of 63 years). The indications for LAVA-ECMO were CS because of myocardial infarction (29.4%), biventricular failure (26.5%), and/or valvular heart disease (26.5%). Trans-septal puncture was guided by intracardiac echocardiography (86.8%) or transesophageal echocardiography (13.2%). Arterial cannulation was performed by way of transcaval access in 25% of the cases. Post-LAVA-ECMO cannulation was associated with substantial improvement in the hemodynamics within 24 hours after cannulation, including reduction in right atrial pressure (absolute mean difference: −5.0 mm Hg, p <0.001), mean pulmonary artery pressure (−9.0 mm Hg, p <0.001), pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (−10.0 mm Hg, p <0.001), and left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (−14.0 mm Hg, p <0.001). Survival to decannulation occurred in 69.1%, whereas the 30-day survival from cannulation was 51.5%. The in-hospital all-cause mortality was 51.5%. Only 5 patients (7.4%) required additional mechanical circulatory support (MCS) (4 Impella, 1 veno-arterio-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation). There were no complications related to transeptal placement of the venous ECMO cannula. In conclusion, LAVA-ECMO, an MCS strategy providing biatrial drainage, appears to also provide simultaneous left ventricular venting, as demonstrated by improved invasive hemodynamics. Although the procedure appears safe, with no direct complications to interatrial septal cannulation, postcannulation complications remain high, and further studies are needed to evaluate the full safety profile of LAVA-ECMO compared with alternative MCS strategies.