Experimental Evaluation of Veno-Arterial Pumping, A Proposed Technique for Circulation Support

¹ The Glover Clinic and The Thoracic and Cardiovascular Research Laboratory, The Presbyterian Hospital.

1. A system for circulation support is described in which blood is pumped from the superior cava to the lower aorta without oxygenation.

2. The abscence of a blood-air interface and the atraumatic pump used make the system suitable for prolonged circulation support.

3. The oxygen saturation of blood in the bypass falls with increasing extracorporeal flow. When veno-arterial pumping contributes approximately half the total body perfusion, the unsaturated blood mixes with oxygenated blood from the heart in the abdominal aorta between the diaphragm and the renal arteries.

4. There is evidence of redistribution of blood flow during veno-arterial pumping, flow through the lower limbs increasing and flow through the head and upper limbs tending to decrease.

5. An increase in systemic perfusion and arterial pressure produced by veno-arterial pumping may be effective in relieving shock and increasing coronary blood flow in patients with myocardial infarction.