Abiomed’s Impella Heart Pumps Elevated in Newest ESC Guidelines for Mechanical Circulatory Support Systems

November 11, 2021—Abiomed, Inc. recently announced that its Impella heart pumps have received an increase in recommendation level as part of a change in short-term mechanical circulatory support (MCS) systems from Class IIb to Class IIa as part of an update to the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) guidelines for the treatment of acute heart failure patients.

Class IIa recommendations are defined as “should be considered,” whereas Class IIb recommendations are defined as “may be considered.”

According to Abiomed, the ESC guideline update is the first in 5 years and reflects the changes in clinical evidence that supports the use of Impella for high-risk percutaneous coronary interventions, cardiogenic shock, and right heart failure patients.

ESC guideline authors also expanded the type of patient who may benefit from these MCS devices, such as Impella, to include those with mildly reduced left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction, noted the company in their announcement.

Abiomed summarized the ESC guidelines stating that the authors of the guidelines favor MCS devices for the treatment of cardiogenic shock and recommend Impella be used to unload venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation patients who are experiencing increased LV afterload with an increase in LV end-diastolic pressure and pulmonary congestion.

The company also noted that the guidelines list intra-aortic balloon pumps as a Class III (“not recommended”) recommendation in post-myocardial infarction cardiogenic shock, and should only be considered in special cases of heart failure.