Abstract

In patients with acute heart failure, the heart can be assisted by the inser- tion of a mechanical device which takes over part of the heart's work load by pumping blood from the left ventricle, one of the heart chambers, into the aorta. In this project we formulate a model that describes the effect of such a device on the cardiovascular dynamics. We show that data for the pressure-volume relationship within a heart chamber that have been obtained experimentally can be reproduced quite accurately by our model. Moreover, such experimental data can help in calibrating unknown parameters that specify the characteris- tics of the pump. A key parameter turned out to be the extra friction that is encountered by the blood flowing through the heart pump.

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