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Side effects of Ventricular Assist Devices (VADs)
Patients on ventricular assist devices or with some cardiac valve disorders develop bleeding complications due to the mechanical effect of shear stress on blood components.
In collaboration with the ACBD, we demonstrated that as well as acquired Von Willebrand disease, new platelet dysfunction develops in this patient group as indicated by increased shedding of platelet receptors GP1b and GPVI.
Both of these receptors play critical roles in platelet function and their loss is likely to contribute to the bleeding noted in one third of the patients studied. Ongoing research continues to further elucidate the pathogenesis of bleeding in this high risk cohort.