CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – UVA Health’s pediatric cardiology team was the first in Virginia to implant a temporary heart pump called Impella into patient under 18, back on Aug. 10.
The Impella device, according to Dr. Michael McCullough, Professor of Pediatrics and the Medical Director of the Pediatric Pulmonary Hypertension and Mechanical Circulatory Support Programs, is a small catheter-like heart pump to help pump blood in patients as they await heart transplant.
“Typically, what your heart is supposed to do is to squeeze and relax, squeeze and relax,” Dr. McCullough told a reporters’ conference call about the new heart pump. “And when patients develop… the most common group that this benefits are those with a dilated cardiomyopathy, meaning that the heart is progressively dilated over time, and it can’t squeeze to get enough blood out per minute to meet the body’s needs.”…