The team at the Andreas Grüntzig Cardiac Catheterization Laboratories has extensive experience and expertise in performing highly complex procedures on the coronary arteries. This includes life-saving interventions for patients with cardiac arrest, severely altered coronary vessels and severely impaired heart function. In these cases, cardiovascular support systems help us to maintain blood flow to the organs during the procedure. The most modern system for cardiovascular support is a heart pump inserted via the groin, which supports the heart in its function. For this procedure, the groin is numbed with a local anesthetic so that you do not feel anything from the procedure.
The figure illustrates the position and function of the heart pump: blood is drawn into the left ventricle and pumped out again in the left aorta. The arrow shows where the blood is drawn in. The arrowheads illustrate the path of the blood flow. The enlarged image section illustrates the outlet valve with the red blood cells flowing out.