Figure 1.
Right ventricular fractional area change (RVFAC) estimation in (A) a 73-year old male with ischemic cardiomyopathy who has become inotrope dependent in the past few months and (B) a 43-year old female with nonischemic cardiomyopathy awaiting heart transplantation who required an intra-aortic balloon pump for stabilization. Both patients received a Heart Mate II device 10 days later as destination therapy and bridge-to-transplant, respectively. Patient A was weaned from inotropes on postoperative day 5, whereas patient B required inotropic support for 38 days. Note the heavy trabeculation and the strong echo from the defibrillator lead in B.