The impact of aortic valve regurgitation on the combination therapy of VA-ECMO and Imeplla support in severe cardiogenic shock: a simulation study

Background: The utilization of a combination of veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) and Impella, ECPELLA, has become widespread among patients with cardiogenic shock. The utilization of VA-ECMO in the presence of aortic regurgitation (AR) can result in significant left ventricular (LV) distention. Additionally, the implantation of Impella via the aortic valve frequently induces AR clinically. We established a simulation model and evaluated the impact of AR on hemodynamics under ECPELLA. Furthermore, assuming that the reverse flow of AR is strongly determined by aortic pressure (AP) level, we simulated a scenario where AP was further decreased. Methods: We employed Simulink® (Mathworks, Inc.). The systemic and pulmonary circulations were modeled using a 5-element resistance-capacitance network. Four cardiac chambers were represented by time-varying elastance. We compared the aortic regurgitant flow (Far), total systemic flow (Ftotal), and LV pressure-volume relationship under various severities of AR and varying Impella (0-3.7 L/min) and VA-ECMO (0-5 L/min) flows. AR grades were adjusted by the regurgitant resistance and classified as mild, moderate, and severe, mimicking a clinical scenario. Results: Without AR, ECMO significantly increased Ftotal and raised LV end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP). Impella increased Ftotal and decreased LVEDP. The concomitant presence of AR exacerbated the increase of LVEDP by ECMO and the reduction of LVEDP by Impella. Under ECPELLA support (VA-ECMO: 3 L/min) with mild AR, the increase of Impella support (1 to 3.5 L) increased Ftotal and Far, while decreasing LVEDP, indicating the prevention of AR-induced LV distention. Additionally, the presence of mild AR prevented the Impella-induced left ventricular suction that is commonly observed under ECPELLA support with high-flow VA-ECMO. In the case of moderate AR, while the hemodynamic trends were similar to those observed under mild AR, Impella was unable to prevent the increment of LVEDP to a critical level (< 20 mmHg). However, by decreasing AP through reducing resistance (e.g. vasodilators), both Far and LVEDP were dramatically reduced and Ftotal was increased under ECPELLA support. Conclusion: The concomitant presence of AR in ECPELLA condition increased LV load, while prevented LV suction. The use of vasodilator in ECPELLA with AR could attenuate AR, increase systemic perfusion, and reduce LV load. The optimal control of Impella and VA-ECMO flows and AP can maximize the hemodynamic and LV unloading impacts of ECPELLA. no funding This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2023 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.