Vasopressors and Balloon pump

[aobnurse]

Hello all.

I am by no means a CVICU nurse. My speciality is OB. I have a question r/t a family friend. She has been on dialysis for the past 15 yrs and is a very brittle diabetic. She had a recent DMR. Surgery went well...until time to re-start her heart. Long story short, she ended up on a balloon pump and every vasopressor that there is to maintain b/p and co. My question is: what are the potential complications r/t long term Vasopressor use (I'm pretty sure potential loss of limb, but unsure of any other).

Also would like to know about prolonged balloon pump usage.

Any help would be appreciated.

[Biffbradford]

DMR? = Bypass grafts?

Open heart surgery is hell on the body. Anyone's body. Perhaps the heart needs some recovery time, so they put the balloon pump in to help it rest. Inotropes like Dobutamine may have been added as well as the vasopressors. A week on those supports is not unheard of, and will be weaned off as tolerated. Usually they try to wean the balloon pump first, get that out, then work on the drips. Some surgeons will hold off on extubation until the balloon pump is out. CVVH may be started instead of hemodialysis until vitals are more stable. While that's all very scary, it's also very common, unfortunately. Thorough physical assessments are par for the course to make sure side effects are minimized.

[aobnurse]

Thank you for your response. Unfortunately my friend passed away yesterday.

(DMR=Direct Myocardial Revascularization. I have over 30 yrs of nsg experience and that's what we called it in the '80's)

[emilyBABSNRN]

I was reading this post as a spectator... So sorry to hear about your loss! Your friend was very lucky to have you care about them. Wishing you peace during this hard time. Hugs!

[Biffbradford]

Very sorry to hear that. That is a very hard surgery for everyone.

DMR - I had to Google that because I had never heard of it called that.