Intra Aortic Balloon Pumps - Basics
| What does "Intra Aortic" mean? |
Intra = Between, Inside Aorta = The major artery from the heart to the body. Intra-aortic = inside the Aorta - next to the heart |
| What does it do? |
Helps the heart recover by reducing the amount of work it
has to do. |
| Physiology |
If the blood supply to the heart muscle becomes reduced by
a blood clot, the heart's ability to do its normal work is reduced
because there is less oxygen being carried to the muscle. The
heart muscle in the area affected by the blocked supply works
on, depleting oxygen. The region begins to die. If the normal
body load the heart "sees" is reduced by a Balloon
Pump, the work and oxygen demand is reduced, while the heart
muscle blood supply is improved. The muscle can now survive
and heal. |
| How it works |
A catheter or "balloon" is inserted into the femoral
artery, and using an ultrasonic detecting device, is slid into
position below the aortic arch. It is then connected to the
Balloon Pump. The Balloon pump uses helium gas to drive the catheter rather than air because it lets the balloon inflate and deflate much more rapidly. The inflation and deflation cycles are timed electronically from an arterial pressure wave or an ECG signal. As the left ventricle begins to contract and pushes the blood out through the semilunar aortic valve, the flow is obstructed by the body resistance, requiring appropriate work from the heart muscle. If the Balloon filling the aortic arch is suddenly deflated at this time, it "sucks" out the contents of the ventricle, and the heart chamber can empty with little effort. When the left ventricle is empty, the body's natural back-pressure closes the Aortic semilunar valve. Suddenly inflating the Balloon now pushes the blood around the body and the coronary arteries. The balloon remains inflated until the ventricle is ready to contract again. As the heart heals, the assistance the IABP gives can be gradually decreased by reducing the volume of inflation, and assisting only every second or third heart beat. IABP assistance is typically required for 5 days. |
| Units of measurement |
Pressure Volts |
| Typical values |
70mmHg |
| Picture of equipment |
|
 Datascope 98XT http://www.datascope.com/ |