# Echocardiographic and Hemodynamic Effects of Intraaortic Balloon Pump in Patients with Cardiogenic Shock on Veno-Arterial Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation

## TL;DR

This study examines how adding an intraaortic balloon pump affects heart function in patients with severe heart failure on a life-support machine.

## Contribution

The study provides new empirical evidence on the limited hemodynamic benefits of IABP in cardiogenic shock patients on VA ECMO.

## Key findings

- IABP use increased left ventricular velocity time integral by 8.1% (p = 0.023).
- Right ventricular end diastolic base diameter decreased by 4.7% (p = 0.05).
- Heart rate decreased by 3.2% (p < 0.001) with IABP use.

## Abstract

We investigated echocardiographic and hemodynamic effects of intraaortic balloon pump (IABP) in 26 patients with cardiogenic shock on veno-arterial membrane oxygenation (VA ECMO). Our study demonstrated an 8.1% increase in left ventricular velocity time integral (p = 0.023) without reduction in left ventricular diameters and 4.7% decrease in right ventricular end diastolic base diameter (p = 0.05) when using IABP 1:1 mode compared to no augmentation. This was associated with a 3.2% decrease in heart rate (p < 0.001) and a 3.0% increase in mixed venous oxygen saturation (p = 0.057). Since the magnitude of the documented favorable changes is rather small, the clinical relevance of concomitant IABP in patients with cardiogenic shock on VA ECMO remains questionable.