The 2013 ISHLT Guidelines for Mechanical Circulatory Support: Executive Summary

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Published 1 February 2013

David Feldman, MD, PhD; Salpy V. Pamboukian, MD, MSPH; Jeffrey J. Teuteberg, MD; Emma Birks, MD; Katherine Lietz, MD; Stephanie A. Moore, MD; Jeffrey A. Morgan, MD; Francisco Arabia, MD; Mary E. Bauman, MScN, NP; Hoger W. Buchholz, MD; Mario Deng, MD; Marc L. Dickstein, MD; Aly El-Banayosy, MD; Tonya Elliot, RN, MSN; Daniel J. Goldstein, MD; Kathleen L. Grady, PhD, APN; Kylie Jones, RN; Katarzyna Hryniewicz, MD; Ranjit John, MD; Annemarie Kaan, MCN, RN; Shimon Kusne, MD; Matthias Loebe, MD, PhD; M. Patricia Massicotte, MHSc, MD; Nader Moazami, MD; Paul Mohacsi, MD; Martha Mooney, MD; Thomas Nelson, MD; Francis Pagani, MD; William Perry, RN; Evgenij V. Potapov, MD; J. Eduardo Rame, MD, MPhil; Stuart D. Russell, MD; Erik N. Sorensen, PhD; Benjamin Sun, MD; Martin Strueber, MD; Abeel A. Mangi, MD; Michael G. Petty, PhD,RN; Joseph Rogers, MD

J Heart Lung Transplant. 2013 Feb;32(2):157-87

  • Advanced Heart Failure & Transplantation
  • Cardiology
  • Cardiothoracic Surgery
  • Executive Summary
  • Mechanical Circulatory Support
  • Professional Guideline
  • Publications & Journals
  • Standards & Guidelines

The field of mechanical circulatory support (MCS) has made tremendous progress in the past 15 years. Thousands of patients worldwide have undergone implantation of long-term MSC devices (MCSDs). Currently, management of patients with MCSDs has been guided by individual clinicians and center-specific protocols. There have been few randomized studies to guide patient selection and care of the MCS patient. Short-term success with MCS therapy largely depends on patient selection, surgical technique, and post-operative management. Long-term success depends on physician and patient engagement in excellent care of their device and personal health.

This document focuses on long-term device therapy with the goal of patient discharge from the hospital and is the result of work by five Task Force Groups, covering:

  • Patient selection for permanent pump implantation
  • Mechanisms that are important for patient optimization prior to device implantation
  • Intraoperative considerations and immediate post-operative care in the intensive care unit (ICU) setting
  • Inpatient management during the post operative phase, once the patient is out of the ICU and through discharge, and during readmission to the hospital
  • Long-term outpatient care of the MCS patient using the multidisciplinary approach

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