Imaging of Left Ventricular Device Complications

Abstract

Left ventricular assist devices have become an increasingly common life-extending therapy for patients with end-stage heart failure. These devices may be used as a bridge to transplant, destination therapy, or to recovery, providing either pulsatile or nonpulsatile support. Because of the increasing frequency of left ventricular assist device utilization and the improved short-term and long-term survival after placement, there has been a parallel increase in the radiologic imaging of patients with these devices, mandating radiologists’ awareness of the manifestations of common complications, including infection, thrombosis and embolism, cannula obstruction, hemorrhage, and complications of adjacent vessels and viscera, all of which will be discussed in this pictorial essay.