Heart Mate II device associated with blood clots-Thoratec Corpn.
A study published recently in the New England Journal of Medicine concluded the rate of blood clots relating to HeartMate II from Thoratec Corporation, at three major hospitals involved in the study has "been increasing ... and is associated with substantial morbidity and mortality." Researchers pooled data from 895 HeartMate II procedures at Ohio's Cleveland Clinic, Duke University Medical Center and Missouri-based Washington University Barnes-Jewish Hospital from 2004 through 2013. Out of that patient pool, they found reports of 72 blood clots in 66 patients,according to a report from Bloomberg.
HeartMate II is a left ventricular assist device designed to aid an ailing heart as a bridge to transplant and is indicated for use as a bridge to transplantation in cardiac transplant candidates at risk of imminent death from non-reversible left ventricular failure. It is also indicated for use in patients with New York Heart Association (NYHA) Class 1n11 or IV end-stage left ventricular failure.
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