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If your family member becomes critically ill due to a heart attack, cardiogenic shock, or heart failure or requires a procedure to fix a heart problem in the setting of poor heart function, then you want to go to a program that can offer the most cutting-edge technology and expertise around the use of acute mechanical circulatory support pumps. The CardioVascular Center at Tufts Medical Center is the only hospital in Boston that can offer this.
Mechanical circulatory support pumps are devices used to support heart and lung function in patients with cardiogenic shock, end-stage heart failure waiting for a heart transplant or for who transplant is not an option, and during high-risk interventions such as coronary stenting, valve therapy, or procedures used to treat arrhythmias.
Our acute mechanical circulatory support program offers a variety of options in all categories of heart dysfunction: RV (right ventricle), LV (left ventricle), Biventricular (both RV and LV), and cardiopulmonary failure.
The reason we are able to offer these technologies at Tufts Medical Center is because we have:
Over the past 10 years, the use of acute mechanical circulatory support has grown exponentially, however successful outcomes are more likely when these devices are used in the right setting at the right time with the right teams involved.
These devices are used primarily in three ways:
Accepting New Patients
Title(s): Surgical Director, Advanced Heart Failure Program; Associate Professor, Tufts University School of Medicine Department(s): Surgery, CardioVascular Center, Cardiac Surgery Appt. Phone: 617-636-5590 Fax #: 617-636-6410
General cardiac/thoracic surgery
Virtual Appointments Available
Title(s): Director, HF Network Development; Associate Professor, Tufts University School of Medicine Department(s): Medicine, CardioVascular Center, Cardiology Appt. Phone: 617-636-8068 Fax #: 617-636-6030
Heart failure, cardiac transplantation
Title(s): Executive Director, The CardioVascular Center for Research and Innovation (CVCRI); Director, Acute Mechanical Circulatory Support Program; Director, Interventional Research Laboratories; Director of Cardiac Biology Research Center, Molecular Cardiology Research Institute (MCRI); Associate Professor, Tufts University School of Medicine Department(s): Medicine, CardioVascular Center, Cardiology Appt. Phone: 617-636-8252 Fax #: 617-636-5913
Interventional cardiology, advanced heart failure, mechanical circulatory support
Title(s): Associate Chief, Division of Cardiology; Medical Director, VAD Program; Assistant Professor, Tufts University School of Medicine Department(s): Medicine, CardioVascular Center, Cardiology Appt. Phone: 617-636-8068 Fax #: 617-636-6030
Heart failure, cardiac transplantation, ventricular assist devices
Title(s): Director, Interventional Cardiology Center; Professor, Tufts University School of Medicine Department(s): Medicine, CardioVascular Center, Cardiology Appt. Phone: 617-636-9183 Fax #: 617-636-5913
Interventional cardiology
As mentioned above, our program offers the full range of acute mechanical circulatory support pumps for all areas of the heart. The key to knowing when and how to utilize these pumps is in understanding the engineering and hemodynamics behind them.
That is where Tufts Medical Center’s acute mechanical circulatory support team truly excels. Our physicians have published some of the most fundamental observations centered on acute circulatory support and as a result have a strong understanding and expertise in the use of all acute circulatory support pumps, including: LV Support – Centrimag LVAD, IABP, Impella CP, Impella 5.0, Tandem LVAD, VA-ECMO RV Support – Centrimag RVAD, Impella RP, Tandem RVAD, VA-ECMO BiV Support – Centrimag BiVAD, Impella BiPella, Tandem Bi-VAD and VA-ECMO.
Given our expertise in the domain of acute circulatory support, our team is among the first to use emerging technologies, which includes early participation in clinical trials not widely available throughout the United States.These emerging options include Thoratec PHP, Axillary IABP, Tandem Protek RVAD and Ambulatory Acute MCS, Impella RP.
IABP The IABP is the most widely used nondurable mechanical circulatory support device in the U.S. It is a catheter-mounted balloon that assists blood flow by inflating during diastole, displacing blood volume in the descending aorta and increasing aortic pressure.
Impella The Impella pump is a tiny, catheter-based axial flow pump that is placed in the left ventricle (LV) of the heart across the aortic valve. The pump transfers kinetic energy to the blood stream – creating a continuous flow of blood from the LV to the ascending aorta.
Our team uses pumps like the Impella 5.0 as an ambulatory option to support patients with advanced heart failure while they recover and engage in activities such as physical therapy.
TandemHeart The TandemHeart device is a pump that reduces left ventricular preload by transferring oxygenated blood from the left atrium to the descending aorta via 2 cannulas.
VA-ECMO VA-ECMO stands for venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. This device is commonly used to improve systemic oxygenation during cardiorespiratory collapse (shock), cardiac arrest and myocarditis. A patient is hooked up to the ECMO circuit via tubing that allows his or her blood to run through the circuit instead of through the heart and lungs. The ECMO continuously removes carbon dioxide and adds oxygen to the blood and then returns it to the patient. This process reduces both right and ventricular blood flow volumes with an increase in arterial pressure and left ventricular systolic and diastolic pressures.
Our ECMO program is run in partnership with the Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU) at Tufts MC and is one of the strongest programs in New England. Other major academic medical centers in the area often transfer patients in need of ECMO treatment to Tufts MC because of our expertise. Read one patient’s testimonial about how ECMO saved her life >
Biventricular Failure
Failure of both the right and left ventricles (Biventricular Failure) is associated with high rates of morbidity and mortality. At Tufts Medical Center, we have been the first employ percutaneous acute circulatory support technologies for Biventricular Failure. For example, the use of two axial flow pumps to support both right and left heart failure (BiPella) has been performed less than 50 times world-wide. Tufts Medical Center was the first to develop and employ this approach in Boston and has successfully recovered several patients from cardiogenic shock with this technology.
One of the most effective ways to maintain our leadership position at the cutting-edge of clinical care is to engage in research. By taking one step towards a more fundamental understanding of how acute circulatory support pumps work, we gain valuable insight into our current treatment algorithms, future treatment strategies, and how new devices may work even better to support a disabled heart and potentially lead to recovery of heart function.
The Acute MCS Working Group at Tufts Medical Center has earned more than $4 million dollars in research awards from multiple cutting-edge companies (Figure). Over the past 5 years, this funding has led to the publication of more than 50 articles in peer-reviewed journals and has helped us push the limits of innovation and understanding of acute mechanical support worldwide.
Our current research is focused on:
In addition to providing cutting-edge clinical care and researching innovative strategies for the use of acute mechanical circulatory support, the program at Tufts Medical Center has invested in developing the next generation of experts in this domain.
To apply to either program, contact Dr. Navin Kapur.
Call for Acute Mechanical Circulatory Support Research Fellowship Applications.
To show your support and assist the efforts of our dedicated staff, please contact Tufts Medical Center Trust at the address below or visit the Giving website and click Give Now.
If you are submitting a donation online through the Tufts Medical Center Trust, please make sure to select “Other” when asked where you would like to designate your gift and type in Acute Mechanical Circulatory Support Program in the text box provided.
All donations made to support our mission or specific program objectives of the department are tax-deductible.
Thank you for your support.
Tufts Medical Center Trust 800 Washington Street Box #9248 Boston, MA 02111
