The AB5000™ Ventricle, a major component of the AB5000™ Circulatory Support System, is a pneumatically driven blood pump. The sterile, disposable Ventricle provides circulatory support in the presence of left-, right-, or both-sided heart failure. The Ventricle is located next to the body (paracorporeal) and can take over the pumping function of the natural heart allowing the muscles to rest and recover.

Assisted by vacuum, blood flows from the native heart into the AB5000™ Ventricle bladder. The bladder, which holds about 100 cc of blood, fills and empties much like the natural heart. Connection of the Ventricle to the patient is accomplished by connecting the pump to cannulae, or tubes, implanted in the patient's heart.

The ABIOMED systems are the most widely available and used VADs in the world. The systems are in over 600 institutions worldwide and have supported thousands of patients over the past ten years. Institutions using best practices have seen success rates exceeding 60%, where the natural heart fully recovered and the patient was discharged from the hospital without a device, or the patient received heart support and improved organ function until they could receive a transplant. Medicare and private insurance cover all ABIOMED products.