Blood-pressure-measurement element

An apparatus, comprising:

• a blood-pump tube configured to traverse an aortic valve of a subject, such that a proximal end of the tube is disposed within an aorta of the subject and a distal end of the tube is disposed within a left ventricle of the subject, the blood-pump tube defining one or more blood-inlet openings at its distal end and one or more blood-outlet openings at its proximal end;
• an impeller configured to be disposed within the subject's left ventricle within the blood-pump tube, and configured to pump blood from the subject's left ventricle into the one or more blood-inlet openings, through the blood-pump tube, and into the subject's aorta via the one or more blood-outlet openings;
• at least one left-ventricular blood-pressure-measurement element that is configured to extend from outside a body of a subject to at least at an outer surface of the blood-pump tube at a location that is proximal to the one or more blood-inlet openings, such that a distal end of the left-ventricular blood-pressure-measurement element is in direct communication with left-ventricular bloodstream of the subject outside the blood-pump tube;
• and
• at least one pressure sensor disposed outside a body of the subject, the pressure sensor being configured to measure left-ventricular pressure of the subject outside the blood-pump tube by measuring blood pressure at the distal end of the left-ventricular blood-pressure-measurement element.