Recent change in bridging strategy and improved clinical outcomes following durable left ventricular assist device implantation in Japan

Background Destination therapy (DT) was approved in Japan in May 2021. Use of Impella device as a bridge to left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation has been increasing. The difference of clinical outcomes between Impella-bridge (a conversion from Impella to durable left ventricular assist device [LVAD]), bridge-to-bridge (BTB) (a conversion from extracorporeal LVAD to durable LVAD), and primary LVAD remains unclear especially in Japanese. Methods Patients who underwent durable LVAD implantation between October 2017 and March 2025 and were prospectively registered in the Japanese Registry for Mechanically Assisted Circulatory Support (J-MACS) were included. The baseline characteristics, cumulative mortality, and adverse events following durable LVAD implantation were retrospectively compared between 2 bridging strategies and primary LVAD cohort. Results A total of 964 patients who received durable LVAD implantation (median age: 49 years; primary LVAD: 77.4%; Impella-bridge: 11.6%; BTB: 11.0%) were analyzed. The prevalence of Impella-bridge strategy increased especially after DT approval and the introduction of Impella 5.5. The cumulative mortality during durable LVAD support was lowest in Impella-bridge cohort and highest in BTB cohort during a median follow-up of 1053 days (8.0% vs 21.0%). Among the total cohort, an Impella-bridge strategy tended to be associated with a lower mortality following durable LVAD implantation with an adjusted hazard ratio of 0.316 (95% confidence interval 0.095-1.048, p = 0.060). Conclusions Impella-bridge strategy increased after the introduction of Impella 5.5 in the era of DT and tended to be associated with a lower mortality following durable LVAD implantation. Further studies are warranted to validate the hypothesis.