Hemodynamics and its predictors during Impella-protected PCI in high risk patients with reduced ejection fraction

Background: Percutaneous ventricular-assistance by Impella (IMP) represents an emerging strategy to manage patients with reduced left-ventricular (LV) ejection-fraction (EF) undergoing percutaneous-coronary-intervention (PCI). The hemodynamic behave during IMP-protected PCI has been scarcely investigated. Methods: We reviewed the IMP console's function and hemodynamic data (which are continuously recorded during assistance) in a consecutive series of 37 patients who underwent elective IMP-protected PCI in two high-volume centers. All patients had multivessel disease and impaired LVEF. Coronary artery disease burden was graded using the British-Cardiovascular-Intervention-Society jeopardy-score (BCIS-JS) score. IMP motor speed and pressure signals (systolic blood pressure, SBP, and mean blood pressure, MBP) were analyzed. Primary hemodynamic end-points were “critical systolic blood pressure (SBP) drop” (SBP decrease ≥ 20 mm Hg reaching ≤90 mm Hg values) and “critical mean blood pressure (MBP) drop” (MBP decrease reaching ≤60 mm Hg). Results: Over mean assistance duration of 254 ± 549 min, no IMP motor drop occurred. During PCI, SBP and MBP significantly decreased but all patients had SBP values >78 mm Hg. Critical SBP and MBP drops occurred in 10.8% of patients. Among all baseline and procedural characteristics, BCIS-JS was the only significant predictor of SBP drop (p = 0.001) while BCIS-JS and LV end-diastolic volume significantly predicted MBP drop (p = 0.001 for both). Conclusions: In patients with reduced EF undergoing IMP-protected PCI, a significant pressure decrease occurs during PCI but pressure is systematically maintained at levels warranting vital organ perfusion. Critical pressure drops during PCI occur in some patients with higher jeopardized myocardium and left ventricular diastolic volumes.