Device malfunction of the CardioWest total artificial heart secondary to catheter entrapment of the tricuspid valve.

We report two cases at a single institution, a 52-year-old man and a 25-year-old woman, who had failures of their CardioWest total artificial hearts (TAH) from central venous lines that caused obstruction of the right ventricular inflow valves. Each patient was noted to have decreasing TAH outputs for a few days before this catastrophic device arrest. Both patients died; one suddenly and one during a protracted period, as a result of catheter entrapment of the disc of the Medtronic Hall right ventricular inflow valve.