Cardiogenic Shock: Other Support Measures

Transcript

I kind of already mentioned the intra-aortic balloon pump. I mentioned the Impella devices, and I also mentioned the ventricular assist devices, but another way to support the critical shock patient that is in refractory shock is to do what we call ECMO or extracorporeal mechanical oxygenation, where a big cannula is placed in the artery and another one in the vein, and then the system is set up to go through an extracorporeal or out of body pump where the blood is oxygenated and then returned back into the body for circulation.