Protected percutaneous coronary intervention, abbreviated as Protected PCI, is a heart procedure that involves a ventricular assist device that is used to treat patients with cardiovascular disease, including advanced heart failure.

[3] Deborah Moore, the Director of Interventional Cardiology at Florida Hospital Zephyrhills, stated that protected PCI is beneficial in patients who are "inoperable or non-candidates for stents and angioplasty.

"[3] The Impella 2.5, used in protected PCI, "received FDA approval for elective and urgent high-risk PCI procedures in March 2015, following its 510(k) clearance in 2008" and as a percutaneous hemodynamic support device, it was deemed "safe and effective for patients with complex coronary disease, depressed ejection fraction, other co-morbidities, and who have been refused for surgical treatment.

"[4] The PROTECT II Study, published in Circulation found that the "Impella 2.5 provided superior hemodynamic support in comparison with IABP, with maximal decrease in cardiac power output from baseline of −0.04±0.24 W in comparison with −0.14±0.27 W for IABP (P=0.001).

"[5] Hospitals such as Detroit Medical Center, and organizations such as the Society of Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions, have featured lectures including "The New Era of Protected PCI: Treating Elective and High-Risk PCI Patients with Impella 2.5",[6] and "Expanding your Patient Practice with Protected PCI: Treating the Most Complex Patients" in order to educate physicians on using protected percutaneous coronary intervention, respectively.