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    VA ECMO for severe acute heart failure in adults

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    Description

    Heart failure is when the heart cannot properly pump blood around the body to deliver enough oxygen to meet the body's needs. Severe acute heart failure is when life-threatening symptoms develop very quickly.

    Venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA ECMO) is when blood is taken out of the body and put through an artificial lung located outside of the body (extracorporeal). The ECMO machine adds oxygen to the blood (oxygenation), removes carbon dioxide and pumps the blood around the body. This is done over days or weeks. Tubes take blood out of the major veins in the groin, neck, or both, and return it through tubes into a large artery (venoarterial).

    VA ECMO aims to do the work of the heart to provide oxygenated blood to the body while the heart recovers or as a bridge to a treatment.