Background: HeartMate II (HM II) and HeartWare (HW) Left Ventricular Assist Devices have been successfully used in end-stage heart failure patients as a bridge to transplantation, recovery, or decision. We set out to compare their effect in off-loading the left ventricle and its geometry.
Methods: The left ventricular end diastolic (LVEDD) and end systolic (LVESD) diameters were compared between first time HM II (n = 25) and HW implantations (n = 24) before and after the operation at 1, 3, and 6 months. A p value of less than 0.05 was considered as significant.
Results: Post-operative LVEDD and LVESD at 1, 3, and 6 months were significantly reduced in comparison with pre-operative values in both HM II and HW groups. No significant difference was found comparing HM II and HW groups together before and after the operation.
Conclusions: Our study shows that both HM II and HW can significantly reduce the left ventricular systolic and diastolic dimensions and off-load the left ventricle. The miniaturized nature of HW does not affect its performance and it could be as effective as HM II.