Use of the Impella microaxial blood pump for ablation of hemodynamically unstable ventricular tachycardia

Abstract

Ablation for ventricular tachycardia remains a challenge with suboptimal procedural success rates. One of the major causes of difficulty is precipitous hypotension when ventricular tachycardia is induced precluding even rapid mapping of the arrhythmia. We report the successful use of the Impella microcirculatory axial blood flow pump in 3 patients with hemodynamically unstable ventricular tachycardia that allowed successful completion of the procedure. In these 3 patients, there was no evidence of Impella-related valvular disturbance, iatrogenic ventricular arrhythmias, or interference with mapping and ablation catheter movement.