Anesthesia management of a patient undergoing implantation of a left ventricular assist system: A case report

BACKGROUND Heart failure is generally regarded as a progressive and irreversible medical condition. The EVAHEART is an implantable left ventricular assist system. CASE SUMMARY We report the anesthesia management of a 56-year-old male patient with dilated cardiomyopathy undergoing an EVAHEART implantation. Transesophageal echocardiography is crucial to ensure the correct positioning of the device and the proper aortic valve outflow. Because the continuous blood flow device functions best under low systemic and pulmonary vascular resistance, milrinone is the preferred drug. Our patient was accompanied by pulmonary hypertension, so during the operation, nitric oxide was used to reduce pulmonary artery pressure. CONCLUSION The cardiac output achieved by the patient with the assistance of EVAHEART can reach 4 L/min, which of course depends on the front load, rear load, and pump speed.