MECHANICAL CIRCULATORY SUPPORT: IABP VS VAD VS ECMO (PREMIUM)│ EP124
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Welcome to the Atomic Anesthesia podcast hosted by CRNA professor Dr. Rhea Temmermand and Co-Founder Sachi Lord. On this show, you'll hear clear, clinically grounded discussions designed for nurse anesthesia residents and CRNAs who want to feel more confident in complex pharmacology, physiology, and real-world anesthesia decision-making.
Your patient can't come off bypass, the pressors are climbing, and the surgeon wants a balloon. In this members-only episode of our SEE/NCE series, we break down the intra-aortic balloon pump, ventricular assist devices and ECMO with three questions you can use for every device: what does it support, how much, and for how long?
In this episode:
- Why mechanical support is used, and where it fits when a patient can't come off bypass
- IABP placement, counterpulsation, and the four timing errors (and which two are dangerous)
- IABP contraindications and complications
- LVAD physiology: preload dependence, afterload sensitivity, suction events and the right ventricle
- Why your LVAD patient may have no palpable pulse, and how to assess perfusion
- VA vs VV ECMO, LV distention, differential hypoxia, the Impella and the anesthesia plan for LVAD patients
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- SEE/NCE Study Plan: a structured, week-by-week plan to pass your boards
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