Joint Guideline on Acute Mechanical Circulatory Support Released by the Heart Failure Society of America and the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation

ROCKVILLE, Md., Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A new joint guideline published today by the Heart Failure Society of America (HFSA) and the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT) addresses the growing availability and use of acute or temporary mechanical support devices. The joint guideline provides critical recommendations and protocols for the management of patients requiring acute mechanical circulatory support (MCS), with the goals of improving quality of life and reducing the high mortality rates and complications associated with cardiogenic and pulmonary shock.

Task force recommendations in the joint guideline address Timing, Patient and Device Selection of Acute MCS, and Periprocedural and Postprocedural Care for Cardiogenic and Pulmonary Shock, Adjunctive Pharmacological Management, Specific Patient Populations, and Goals of Care and Role of Palliative Care, Social Work, and Ethics. 

Cardiology providers, especially interventional and advanced heart failure specialists; pulmonary and critical care specialists; intensivists; and cardiothoracic surgeons and multidisciplinary team members; as well as referring providers, will find evidence-based and expert guidance to provide the best care for their patients. The writing groups include multidisciplinary members from both ISHLT and HFSA with a focus on diversity in gender, geography, area of expertise and level of seniority.

"While reviews and consensus statements have been published on similar topics, this is the first guideline to provide evidence-based recommendations for the use of acute MCS and should serve as a critical roadmap to optimize care and improve outcomes of our sickest patients," said Michael Givertz, MD, lead author on the guideline and Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.

"To date, consensus statements have focused on specific devices and general indications for acute MCS devices," said Alexander Bernhardt, MD, project lead on the guideline and Surgical Director Heart Transplantation and Mechanical Circulatory Support Program, University Heart and Vascular Center Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany. "This guideline is the first of its kind providing evidence-based recommendations dedicated to the growing field of acute MCS combining indications, peri-implant considerations, and post operative care for patients with heart and lung failure and will serve as the basis for further research and discussions in the field. The inclusion of interdisciplinary and interprofessional aspects of acute MCS treatment highlights modern team-based approaches in medicine."

The "International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation/Heart Failure Society of America Guideline on Acute Mechanical Circulatory Support" will publish simultaneously in the Heart Failure Society of America's flagship journal the Journal of Cardiac Failure and The Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cardfail.2022.11.003

About the Heart Failure Society of America

The Heart Failure Society of America, Inc. (HFSA) represents the first organized effort by heart failure experts from the Americas to provide a forum for all those interested in heart function, heart failure, and congestive heart failure (CHF) research and patient care. The mission of HFSA is to provide a platform to improve and expand heart failure care through collaboration, education, innovation, research, and advocacy. HFSA members include physicians, scientists, nurses, nurse practitioners, pharmacists, trainees, other healthcare workers and patients. For more information, visit hfsa.org.

About the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation

The International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation is a not-for-profit, multidisciplinary professional organization dedicated to improving the care of patients with advanced heart or lung disease through transplantation, mechanical support and innovative therapies. With members in more than 50 countries, ISHLT is the world's largest organization dedicated to the research, education and advocacy of end-stage heart and lung disease. ISHLT members represent more than 15 different professional disciplines. For more information, visit https://www.ishlt.org.

About the Journal of Cardiac Failure

The Journal of Cardiac Failure publishes peer-reviewed manuscripts of interest to clinicians and researchers in the field of heart failure and related disciplines. These include original communications of scientific importance and review articles involving clinical research, health services and outcomes research, animal studies, and bench research with potential clinical applications to heart failure. The Journal also publishes manuscripts that report the design of ongoing clinical trials and editorial perspectives that comment on new developments pertinent to the field of heart failure or manuscripts published in other journals.

Media Contacts:

HFSA – Laura Poko, 301-798-4493, ext. 226, [email protected]
ISHLT – Jess Burke, CAE, IOM, 972-354-1961, [email protected]

SOURCE Heart Failure Society of America