The experience and usage of percutaneous cardiac assist devices in cardiogenic shock as well as high-risk percutaneous coronary intervention have increased over the years. Nonetheless, there is still little evidence of clinical benefit of these devices other than immediate haemodynamic improvement. Despite the fact that these devices are used to treat a rather complex patient population, clinical testing remains important in order to evaluate their true impact on clinical outcome before being adopted into clinical practice. Therefore, this review shows an overview of the current experience and evidence of the available percutaneous cardiac assist devices.
Dagmar M Ouweneel - AMC Heartcenter, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Bimmer E Claessen - Cardiology Fellow, Academic Medical Centre Amsterdam
Krischan D Sjauw - AMC Heartcenter, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
José PS Henriques - Catheterisation Laboratory, Academic Medical Centre of the University of Amsterdam