Analysis of the impact of left ventricular assist devices on the systemic circulation

Abstract

AbstractIn this work we analyze the impact of left ventricular assist devices on the systemic circulation in subjects with heart failure associated with left ventricular dilated cardiomyopathy. We use an integrated model of the left heart and blood flow in the systemic arteries with a left ventricular assist device. We study the impact of the rotation speed of the pump on haemodynamic characteristics of distal arteries. We identify the rotation speed for simultaneous recovery of the healthy average values in all systemic arteries, the heart and the aorta. Our numerical experiments show that blood distribution over the graph of systemic vessels does not depend on flow regimes in ascending aorta. We also observe that the optimal pump rotation speed changes in the atherosclerotic vascular network and depends on stenoses localization.