Management of Mechanical Circulatory Support in Pediatric Heart Failure

Advances in immunosuppression, critical care, dedicated transplant teams, and mechanical circulatory support have paved the way for improvements in waitlist mortality and post-transplant survival for children with end-stage heart failure. The complexity of cardiac physiologies (e.g., congenital heart disease) and anatomical constraints in children mandate the need for multiple types of devices, which poses unique challenges to device selection and management. This chapter focuses on the indications for mechanical circulatory support in children, selection of the appropriate device, and considerations for device management following implantation.