What is balloon pumping?

An intra-aortic balloon pump, or IABP, is a long, skinny balloon that controls the flow of blood through your largest blood vessel, the aorta. The device gets smaller when your heart pumps so blood can flow out to the rest of your body. Then it gets bigger when your heart relaxes to keep more blood in your heart.

What is the purpose of the IABP and where is it positioned?

The IABP reduces the workload on your heart, allowing your heart to pump more blood. The IABP is placed inside your aorta, the artery that takes blood from the heart to the rest of the body. The balloon on the end of the catheter inflates and deflates with the rhythm of your heart.

How does a balloon pump reduce afterload?

The intra-aortic balloon, by inflating during diastole, displaces blood volume from the thoracic aorta. In systole, as the balloon rapidly deflates, this creates a dead space, effectively reducing afterload for myocardial ejection and improving forward flow from the left ventricle.

What is balloon pump augmentation?

The increase in aortic pressure as a result of balloon inflation is called diastolic augmentation. At the onset of systole, the IABP rapidly deflates, causing an area of lowered pressure within the aorta. The lowered aortic pressure decreases impedance or resistance to systolic ejection.

Why do they use helium in balloon pump?

Helium is used to inflate the balloon as it is low density means there is little turbulent flow, so the balloon can inflate fast and deflate slowly. It is also relatively benign and eliminated quickly if there is a leak or rupture in the balloon.

How long can you be on a balloon pump?

The catheter connects to a computer that controls the rate of inflation and deflation. While most patients only use the IABP for a few days, it can stay in place for up to a month.

Why do they put a balloon in your heart?

Overview. Coronary angioplasty is a medical procedure in which a balloon is used to open a blockage in a coronary (heart) artery narrowed by atherosclerosis. This procedure improves blood flow to the heart. Atherosclerosis is a condition in which a material called plaque builds up on the inner walls of the arteries.

Why do IABP use helium?

Why do they use helium in balloon pumps?

Where should balloon pump be on xray?

The balloon should be located in the proximal descending aorta, just below the origin of the left subclavian artery. On a chest radiograph, it should be at the level of the AP window. This ideally results in the balloon terminating just above the splanchnic vessels 3.

How long can a balloon pump stay in?

Why would someone need an intra-aortic balloon pump?

Why might I need intra-aortic balloon pump therapy? IABP therapy is used to treat cardiogenic shock. That’s when your heart can’t pump enough blood to meet the needs of your body. Some heart problems can cause cardiogenic shock.

What is the definition of a balloon pump?

Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Acronyms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia. a mechanical aid to the circulatory function of the heart that acts to provide internal counterpulsation. The basic components of the device are a catheter tipped with a balloon and a pump machine that inflates the balloon with either helium or carbon dioxide.

How is the balloon attached to the catheter?

Attached to the tip of the catheter is a long balloon. This is called an intra-aortic balloon, or IAB. The other end of the catheter attaches to a computer console. This console has a mechanism for inflating and deflating the balloon at the proper time when your heart beats.

What are the side effects of using a balloon pump?

These include: 1 Damage from the lack of blood flow to a limb (ischemia) 2 Injury to an artery 3 Rupture of the balloon 4 Incorrect position of the balloon, which might cause injury to the kidneys or other problems 5 Low platelet count, which might cause excess bleeding because your blood doesn’t clot as well 6 Infection 7 Stroke

Can a balloon pump be used for left ventricular failure?

INTRAAORTIC BALLOON PUMP. With severe left ventricular failure, an IABP will not provide enough flow to sustain the circulation, and a VAD will have to be considered. The risk of air embolism to the brain from the IABP pressure monitoring line is greater than that from a radial or femoral arterial line.