Intermittent Aortic Insufficiency as an Aid to Diagnosing Obstruction in a HeartMate II Continuous-Flow Left Ventricular Assist Device

This report details two cases of left ventricular assist device (LVAD)-related fungal infection. In both cases, the infection occurred within the device and formed an obstruction resulting in intermittent variation in the output of the LVAD. This was manifested by a change in the pattern of aortic insufficiency (AI) from continuous to intermittent on transesophageal echocardiography. Recognition of this finding may allow for noninvasive diagnosis of LVAD flow obstruction.