Intra-aortic balloon pump
A catheter with a cylindrical polyurethane balloon at its tip, inflated with helium in synchrony with the cardiac cycle and connected to an external console.
How it is used
It is placed in the descending aorta to increase coronary perfusion and reduce left ventricular afterload, providing mechanical circulatory support in cardiogenic shock or high-risk cardiac surgery.
Sources
This entry is part of the Instriq catalog, researched and written per specialty from real web research -- never generated or invented without verification -- and reviewed skeptically and independently before publication. How this catalog is written.
Image: DSCP, via Wikimedia Commons. License Public domain. View original source.
History
Added to the catalog on 2026-10-02.
Dates derived from the project's public version-control history on GitHub, not a live collaborative edit log.