How does an intraaortic counterpulsation balloon work?
An IACB is inserted percutaneously via the common femoral artery and subsequently passes through the external iliac artery, common iliac artery, and abdominal aorta to reach the descending thoracic aorta. A long, inflatable balloon is situated around the distal catheter segment and cyclically inflated during early diastole and deflated during early systole of each cardiac cycle. This helps to increase myocardial oxygenation and decrease myocardial oxygenation demand, mainly through improved coronary and peripheral arterial blood flow and decreased cardiac afterload.
