Doppler Aortic Flow Pattern in the Recovering Heart Treated by Cardiac Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation International Society for Artificial Organs

A 39-year-old man was admitted to our hospital because of chest pain and was diagnosed with severe heart failure due to viral myocarditis. Intraaortic balloon pumping (IABP) and cardiac extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) were employed. Using Doppler echocardiography, we evaluated the descending aortic blood flow pattern. When cardiac ECMO was initiated from the right femoral artery, a strong backflow of blood generated by the pump was observed in the abdominal aorta because the forward flow from the native heart was weak. Two days later, the blood flow was reversed from the thoracic to abdominal aorta; the natural flow was strengthened because the native heart had improved. The observation of this phenomenon is helpful for determining the recovery of cardiac function under cardiac ECMO support.