The Impella device is a percutaneous ventricular assist device that has a small pump at one end of a thin, flexible tube. It is implanted through an artery in the leg and pumps blood from the left ventricle through the heart valve into a blood vessel called the ascending aorta. The other end of the tube is connected to a special control system (console) outside the body that controls the pump rate.
This review looked at how well the Impella percutaneous ventricular assist device works and how safe it is for patients. It also considered how much the device costs.
Percutaneous ventricular support with Impella can help to maintain blood flow and blood pressure during high-risk heart procedures and when the heart suddenly cannot pump enough blood (cardiogenic shock). However, percutaneous ventricular support with Impella does not lower death rates; nor is it safer or cheaper than usual treatment with balloon pumps. The economic evaluation shows that Impella devices do not provide a better value for money than balloon pumps for treating patients who receive high-risk percutaneous coronary intervention.