CLINICAL DATA

INTERMACS Levels Playing Field for Mechanical Circulatory Support

INTERMACS is the national registry for patients with FDA-approved mechanical circulatory support (MCS) devices that treat advanced heart failure. This registry was devised as a joint effort of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI), the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in conjunction with the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS).  

By applying uniform definitions and standards, INTERMACS levels the playing field for mechanical circulatory support devices. INTERMACS tracks patient survival, adverse events and cause of death over time by patient profile, device and device category.

Data released on June 2, 2009
The INTERMACS data used in the chart below were released June 2, 2009. These data include devices implanted from June 23, 2006 – March 31, 2009.

This was the last report in which INTERMACS publicly published bridge-to-transplant rates** and patient profile status for left ventricular assist devices (LVADs), biventricular assist devices (BiVADs) and the Total Artificial Heart (TAH).


patients-bridged-x3

74% (1089/1476) of all INTERMACS patients were in the two sickest categories.
*90% (46/51) of all Total Artificial Heart patients were in the two sickest categories.
1089-46 = 1043 LVAD/BiVAD patients were in the two sickest categories.
*73% (1043/1425) of LVAD/BiVAD patients were in the two sickest categories.


**Total Artificial Heart patients are listed UNOS Status 1A and
moved to the top of the transplant list until a matching donor heart becomes
available. In contrast, most ventricular assist device (VAD) patients are listed
Status 1A for 30 days and then moved down to Status 1B thereafter.

Source: UNOS Policy 3.7 - Allocation of Thoracic Organs, pages 1-3 
http://www.unos.org/PoliciesandBylaws2/policies/pdfs/policy_9.pdf ›› download


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