Hematologic complications and design challenges in cardiovascular devices

In this review, we provide an engineering assessment of prevalent blood-wetted cardiovascular devices, their hematologic complications, and their interconnections to identify key areas for future research. In fact, the incidence of cardiovascular diseases has promoted the development of various devices to treat these conditions, including mechanical circulatory supports (mechanical pumps that assist or replace failing hearts), artificial valves to replace faulty heart valves, stents to relieve obstructions in blood vessels, vascular grafts to repair/reconstruct damaged vessels, patches to reinforce or reconstruct cardiovascular tissues, and other implants. The hemocompatibility of these cardiovascular devices, namely their ability to interact with blood flow without causing adverse reactions, remains unsatisfactory, and recurrent complications include thrombosis, hemolysis, and bleeding. Therefore, the discussion provided herein will support readers approaching cardiovascular technologies in building a solid foundation and provide everyone with an up-to-date overview of ongoing research in this multidisciplinary field.