Elevated Angiopoietin-2 Level in Patients With Continuous-Flow Left Ventricular Assist Devices Leads to Altered Angiogenesis and Is Associated With Higher Non-Surgical Bleeding

摘要

BackgroundNon-surgical bleeding (NSB) is the most common adverse event in patients with continuous-flow left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) and is caused by arteriovenous malformations (AVMs). We hypothesized that deregulation of an angiogenic factor, Angiopoietin-2 (Ang-2), in LVAD patients leads to increased angiogenesis and higher NSB.