A novel mechanical cardiac assist device for reversing left ventricular failure.
 Diastolic augmentation of aortic pressure is an efficacious means of improving coronary perfusion in heart failure.
 A novel mechanical cardiac assist device (MCAD), that has advantages over a conventional intraaortic balloon pump and left ventricular assist devices, has been developed.
 It consists of a high efficiency rotary solenoid, coupled to a pair of actuator plates that clamp on a shunt aortic graft section, and operates in a diastolic counterpulsation mode.
 The system has been evaluated in six anesthetized, thoracotomized dogs with myocardial ischemia.
 The MCAD was activated 30-40 min after coronary artery occlusion and synchronized with the R-wave.
 As illustrated by a representative sample of the data obtained from one of several trials, the preliminary experimental results demonstrated that the MCAD worked effectively to fulfill the primary functions of a counterpulsation assist device, i.e., augmentation of coronary perfusion and reduction in the vascular impedance to ventricular ejection.
