Peak exercise capacity is a poor indicator of functional capacity for patients supported by a continuous-flow left ventricular assist device

摘要

The adverse event definition for hemolysis in the setting of LVAD therapy has traditionally been defined using sfHg. Our analysis indicates the threshold of 40 mg/dl is high and is equal to the mean plus 6 standard deviations in patients supported with a CF-A pump. Also, sfHg did not differentiate between degrees of hemolysis in CF-A and CF-C LVADs. Although a threshold of 40 mg/dl for sfHg ensures a high specificity, such a high threshold significantly limits sensitivity and early detection of clinically important hemolysis. Even at a lower threshold, sfHg remained inferior to LDH in detecting device thrombosis.