A reliable test to detect impending pump failure - during long-term support on the Novacor (R) N100 Left Ventricular Assist System

The Durastudy is a new surveillance protocol to detect impending pump failu re in Novacor((R)) N100 left Ventricular Assist Systems implanted for the l ong term. Our patient, a 54-year-old man with a history of dilated cardiomy opathy and contraindications for heart transplantation, received a Novacor pump in May 1995 and did not experience sustainable ventricular recovery du ring the subsequent 3 years. After more than 3 years of support, symptoms o f pump wear were detected in this patient, through application of the Duras tudy protocol. This enabled us to electively exchange the pump at 3.8 years . Our patient remained in New York Heart Association functional class 1 unt il he died in July 1999 of causes unrelated to the pump, after some 1,514 d ays of support. This, we believe, still constitutes a world record.