Intra-aortic Balloon Pump in Extensive Myocardial Infarction With Persistent Ischemia

The intra-aortic balloon pump is placed in the descending thoracic aorta and inflates and deflates in synchrony with the cardiac cycle, providing diastolic augmentation and improving coronary blood flow, while deflating before systole, providing afterload and workload reduction for the myocardium.