Impella® Patient Management
January 2, 2020
Questions to Ask When Caring for an Impella® Patient
Jason Richard, an advanced Impella® trainer at Abiomed, reviews questions to ask when taking over care of a patient with an Impella heart pump. Knowing the answers to these questions can make the transition of care safer and smoother for your patients.
- Which Impella device was implanted?
- Where is the Impella access site and is there any bleeding or oozing?
- What is the centimeter marking on the Impella catheter and has the Tuohy-Borst been tightened?
- Is a Swan-Ganz catheter in place? If so, what is the PA pressure? If not, why?
- Volume status: Is the CVP adequate?
- At what P-level is the Impella pump currently set and are flows within expected range?
- When was the last ACT and what was the result? (ACT between 160 and 180 seconds is recommended while patient is on Impella support)
- Is the Impella delivered heparin via the purge solution being included in the calculation with the systemic IV heparin rate to determine the total heparin delivered to the patient?
Related Content:
IMP-1025
IMP-1089
To learn more about the Impella® platform of heart pumps, including important risk and safety information associated with the use of the devices, please visit: abiomed.com/important-safety-information
