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LVAD therapy is an effective rescue in acute and especially chronic cardiac failure. In several scenarios, it provides a platform for regeneration and sustained myocardial recovery. While unloading seems to be a key element, pharmacotherapy may provide powerful tools to enhance effective cardiac regeneration. The synergy between LVAD support and medical agents may ensure satisfying outcomes on cardiomyocyte recovery followed by improved quality and quantity of patient life. This review summarizes the previous and contemporary strategies for combining LVAD with pharmacotherapy and proposes new therapeutic targets. Regulation of metabolic pathways, enhancing mitochondrial biogenesis and function, immunomodulating treatment, and stem-cell therapies represent therapeutic areas that require further experimental and clinical studies on their effectiveness in combination with mechanical unloading.

Patients with severe heart failure (HF), who are not eligible for cardiac transplantation and receive optimal medical management, based mainly on the use of pharmacological treatment and devices such as resynchronization therapy (implantable cardioverter-defibrillator), achieve poor clinical outcomes and constitute a group with extremely poor prognosis. Currently, the technology used in the latest generation left ventricular assist devices (LVADs), such as the HeartMate 3, makes it possible to achieve patient survival at the level obtained by patients after heart transplantation, and they can be used not only in patients eligible for heart transplantation as a bridge to transplant, but also in those with significantly worse prognosis, who are ineligible for heart transplantation as destination therapy. The objective of this publication is to present recommendations from experts in cardiology and cardiac surgery, supported by clinical trial results, on the use of LVADs as a destination therapy in HF patients who are not eligible for cardiac transplantation. The paper also presents the issue of cardiac transplantation and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation therapy in Poland, as well as current challenges faced by interventional cardiology and cardiac surgery in Poland.

Introduction: During a hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) session, every medical device that is used within the hyperbaric chamber is exposed to several hazards, including an increased ambient pressure and partial pressure of oxygen. In Europe, all medical devices marketed and/or sold for use in hyperbaric conditions must be tested by the manufacturer and marked 'CE' if approved. At the moment, no left ventricular assist device (LVAD) has been formally approved and CE-marked for HBOT., Case: A 65-year-old male was referred to our Hyperbaric Centre for HBOT due to a persistent life-threating soft tissue infection of the non-removable wire connecting the external controller with the pump implanted into the left ventricle of the heart (Heartware LVAD). The aim of the intervention reported here was to safely conduct HBOT sessions with this non-CE marked medical device. After risk analysis, the decision was made to isolate the external part of the LVAD (controller and batteries) from the ambient conditions in the hyperbaric chamber by placing it in a pressure-resistant housing that was vented to the external atmosphere. The housing, a 'Hyperbaric Protective Tube' was built and tested, and the resulting operating procedures were practiced by personnel involved in the patient's care. Thirty uneventful HBOT standard sessions were conducted with subsequent clinical improvement of the soft tissue infection, resulting in an extended timeframe for awaiting heart transplantation., Conclusion: An isolation housing that vents into the dumping system of the hyperbaric chamber allows for the safe use of critical medical devices without prior testing for their compatibility with the hyperbaric environment., (Copyright: This article is the copyright of the authors who grant Diving and Hyperbaric Medicine a non-exclusive licence to publish the article in electronic and other forms.)