Long-term follow-up of patients treated with an implantable left ventricular assist device as an extended bridge to heart transplantation.

Four patients were given the TCI implantable left ventricular assist device as a bridge to heart transplantation. The median treatment time was 541 days (range 462 to 873 days), with a total of 2,417 treatment days. The patients were followed with exercise tests and echocardiography 3 to 18 months after implantation. An invasive method was used for quantification of inflow valve incompetence.