More continuous flow, better learning? The effect of aortic valve opening in patients with left ventricular assist device.

The aim of this study was to analyze neurocognitive function in patients who underwent continuous flow left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation. This cross-sectional study included three groups: LVAD ( There was no significant difference among the groups according to SCWIT, JLOT, SDMT, TMT, and VFT scores. Post-hoc analyzes of RAVLT scores showed significant differences between the LVAD and the other two groups in favor of the LVAD group. Also, the patients with AVO "7-10" the response times were longer and learning scores were found to be lower than those without AVO. With continuous-flow LVAD, neurocognitive functions were not impaired. The learning performance was better in cases where there was no AVO and flow was completely device dependent. We may speculate that neurocognitive functions are not worsening with continuous cerebral blood flow and even it may improve learning performance.