Question

Intra-aortic balloon pump is inflated by
A. Hydrogen
B. Oxygen
C. Helium
D. Chlorine

Answer 1

Hint: IABP is also short for Intra-aortic balloon pump is responsible for controlling blood flow through the aorta which is known to be the largest blood vessel or artery. This device decreases in size when heart pumps so blood flow can easily occur to the rest of the body. It gets bigger when heart relaxation takes place. During cardiogenic shock the doctors give advice to use IABP.

Complete answer:
- Compared to oxygen and chlorine, hydrogen and helium are much lighter, in fact they are even lighter than air.
- Hydrogen is said to be even lighter than helium but still it is not used for the inflation process.
- Helium is selected because of few of its remarkable characteristics. Helium is a Noble gas and there are no chances of it burning. It is also known to have low viscosity which would make it easier to travel through the long connecting tubes. Chances of embolism are also reduced. So, Helium is the most appropriate gas that can be used for inflating the intra-aortic balloon pump.

Hence, the correct answer is option (C).

Note: IABP or intra-aortic balloon pump works best as a circulatory-assist device. This device works best in treating cardiogenic shocks which mainly occur due to the heart’s inability to pump sufficient amounts of blood to meet the daily body requirement. Cardiogenic shock can be caused due to abnormal heart rhythms, heart failure or heart defects. IABP can be unsafe when a person has a leaky aortic valve. Some other risks of using IABP can be a cause of infection, injury to an artery or rupturing of the balloon.