The artificial heart-- past, present, and future

Abstract

Patients with advanced congestive heart failure have a very high 5-year mortality despite medical treatment. In such patients, heart transplantation is the treatment of choice. The number of patients awaiting transplantation is several-fold higher than the number of procedures performed. Heart transplantation therapy has numerous limitations and is associated with serious complications. The left ventricular assist device is a step towards this goal. It can be attached to the weakened left ventricle to temporarily increase blood flow to the body. The use of left ventricular assist devices helps the failing heart to recover and extends the duration over which a patient's heart can wait for a replacement donor heart. This therapy is in use for only up to a few months. The total artificial heart, Jarvik-7, first implanted in 1982, did not succeed due to a poor quality of a patient's life and numerous complications leading to death. Recently, a successful implantation of the AbioCor (Abiomed), the first fully implantable replacement heart, was accomplished. The AbioCor's internal battery system eliminates the need for the patient to be permanently immobilized through tubes or wires connected to an external power source. Innovative transcutaneous energy transmission permits the recharging of internal batteries. The total artificial heart will require adapting it to different human body sizes as well as further improving its technical features. The total artificial heart is a remedy of the future coming to fruition right now, giving a chance to numerous heart failure patients by extending and improving their lives.