ECMO is a life support system that can temporarily take over the work of the heart and lungs, providing the body with oxygen. It can allow the heart and lungs time to rest and heal. A person may ...

Understanding the Context

HONOLULU -- In hindsight, researchers saw more limitations to extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) and proning, therapies initially touted as helpful for COVID patients in intensive care. Use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) was associated with a modestly increased risk of new mental health diagnoses in patients treated for critical illness in an intensive care unit (ICU), ... Healio: Increased risk for new mental health diagnoses found in ECMO survivors Routine early, expeditious use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is a common strategy in patients with severe cardiogenic shock, but a less aggressive initial approach may be just as ... In extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), blood is pumped outside of the body to a heart-lung machine.

Key Insights

The machine removes carbon dioxide and sends oxygen-rich blood back to the body. What is ECMO? ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) is a type of artificial life support. It can help you when your lungs and heart aren’t functioning correctly. An ECMO machine constantly pumps blood out of your body and then sends it through devices that add oxygen and remove carbon dioxide.

Final Thoughts

It then pumps the blood back into your body. ECMO works by temporarily drawing blood from the body to allow artificial oxygenation of the red blood cells and removal of carbon dioxide.