Intra-Aortic Balloon Pump

Key Terms

Counterpulsation: increases blood flow to coronaries, lowers afterload on heart; when aortic valve closes, baloon inflates to force blood back towards beart and down coronary arteries; when aortic vale is open and heart squeezes, baloon rapidly deflates causing a suction which drops afterload
Afterload: the pressure of the arteries, capillaries, snd veins the heart pushes against to generate a blood pressure; measured as SVR on systemic circulation and PVR on pulmonary side
Systemic Vascular Resistance (SVR):: Normal range: 800–1,200 dynes·sec/cm⁵.
Pulmonary Vascular Resistance (PVR): Normal range: 100–250 dynes·sec/cm⁵

Absolute
Aortic Insufficiency because the valve must stay closed in orfer for blood to flow down coronaries
Aortic Dissection

Prepare the patient and obtain informed consent.
Position the patient supine and prep the insertion site (usually the femoral artery).
Administer local anesthesia at the insertion site.
Insert a sheath into the femoral artery using the Seldinger technique.
Advance the guidewire through the sheath and into the aorta under fluoroscopic guidance.
Thread the intra-aortic balloon catheter over the guidewire and advance it to the desired position (tip should be just distal to the left subclavian artery).
Confirm the position of the balloon using fluoroscopy or chest X-ray.
Connect the balloon catheter to the IABP console and initiate counterpulsation.
Monitor the patient’s hemodynamic status and adjust the IABP settings as needed.
Secure the catheter and sheath in place and apply a sterile dressing to the insertion site.