Skip to main content
. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2016 Jan 1.
Published in final edited form as: Ann Thorac Surg. 2014 Nov 14;99(1):360–367. doi: 10.1016/j.athoracsur.2014.07.061

Figure 1.

Figure 1

Bridge to removal. LVADs are placed in patients with pathologic remodeling and development of advanced heart failure. After implantation, the heart undergoes variable levels of reverse remodeling. If inadequate (non-responder), then continued support and/or transplantation remain the mainstay of therapy. If cellular, metabolic, architectural, and functional reversal occurs to normal, then these patients exhibit myocardial recovery. Another, perhaps more common group, are those patients that demonstrate functional improvement without structural and/or molecular normalization. These latter two groups (in orange) are both considered “responders” to therapy and are candidates for consideration of LVAD removal.