UAB Cardiothoracic Surgery Annual Report 2015-16 UAB Medicine Cardiothoracic Surgery 2015/16 Annual | Page 51

The Interagency Registry for Mechanically Assisted Circulatory Support ( INTERMACS ) is a North American prospective registry established at UAB in 2005 for patients receiving mechanical circulatory support device therapy to treat advanced heart failure . INTERMACS was established as a joint effort of the National Heart , Lung and Blood Institute ( NHLBI ), the U . S . Food and Drug Administration ( FDA ), the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services ( CMS ), clinicians , scientists , and industry representatives , in conjunction with James K . Kirklin , MD , and UAB . Dr . Kirklin is the national principal investigator for INTERMACS , and his research group has received $ 15 million in funding from NHLBI during the past 10 years . Currently , 164 medical centers participate in INTERMACS .
EDUCATION , TRAINING , & RESEARCH
Major outcomes after implant , including death , explant , re-hospitalization , and adverse events , are entered as they occur and at set intervals as part of the defined follow-up schedule . INTERMACS provides contemporary data to demonstrate the continued progress of outcomes , with additional insight into appropriate risk stratification and patient selection . Death , transplant , and explant are the major discrete endpoints recorded . For more information and a list of recent publications , please visit the INTERMACS online at uab . edu / medicine / intermacs
Sub-Groups of INTERMACS :
While INTERMACS has always included durable devices implanted in pediatric patients , PediMACS was developed to focus on capturing data elements unique to pediatric patients . PediMACS evaluated special issues in the pediatric population receiving mechanical circulatory support device ( MCSD ) therapy , differences in devices available , and the specific pediatric population for whom this therapy may be most effective . For more information on the PediMACS registry , please visit uab . edu / medicine / intermacs / pedimacs
Integral to the original intent of INTERMACS was contemporary alignment with ambulatory patients with advanced heart failure who were not currently using mechanical circulatory support devices . This mission is being fulfilled by the Medical Arm of Mechanically Assisted Circulatory Support ( MedaMACS ) registry , a prospective study of medically managed advanced heart failure patients . MedaMACS will report the nature of optimal contemporary medical therapy for heart failure and provide information on medical outcomes in terms of timed endpoints of mechanical support , transplant , or death through two years of follow-up . Of equal weight will be the determination of functional capacity , quality of life , and satisfaction with therapy .
The components of decision-making for advanced heart failure will be pivotal in moving toward the 21st century goal of patient-centered care with shared decision-making . The MedaMACS registry will provide landmark data from which to refine selection for mechanical circulatory support among the ambulatory heart failure population , where the greatest benefit of mechanical support is anticipated . For more information about the MedaMACS registry , please visit uab . edu / medicine / intermacs / medamacs www . uabmedicine . org 49