Old drug… new trick? Treatment with sildenafil may prevent device thrombosis and ischemic stroke in LVAD patients.
Contributor: Chris Sobowale
Bleeding and thrombosis account for almost half of adverse events in patients with CF-LVADs.
Saeed et al analyzed 144 HeartMate II (HMII) CF-LVAD patients in a single center, retrospective study. Patients in the sildenafil groups were on sildenafil for pulmonary hypertension or right ventricular dysfunction for at least 30 days after discharge from CF-LVAD implant. Patients were divided into four groups:
- Low level hemolysis not on sildenafil (n=31)
- Low level hemolysis on sildenafil (n= 16)
- No low level hemolysis not on sildenafil n= (76)
- No low level hemolysis on sildenafil (n=21)