Press Release:

TUCSON, Ariz. – Feb. 21, 2006 – Rodger Ford, CEO of SynCardia Systems Inc., told stockholders at the Tucson-based company’s annual meeting that the number of hospitals certified to use the company’s CardioWest™ Total Artificial Heart-temporary (TAH-t) is expected to grow from nine transplant hospitals worldwide in 2005, to 28 in 2006. The TAH-t is the only FDA-approved device capable of providing circulatory restoration in morbidly ill patients with irreversible bi-ventricular failure, bridging them to transplantation when a donor human heart becomes available.

According to Ford, SynCardia will add two hospitals a month to its implant program, making the TAH-t life-saving technology available to more physicians and patients. He said that when SynCardia reaches its 2006 goal, it will have been converted from a scientific venture into a profitable business. SynCardia currently services two transplant hospitals in the United States and seven in other countries worldwide. The two in the United States are the University Medical Center in Tucson and the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio.

In addition to the FDA, TAH-t has also been approved by Health Canada and has the CE mark for use in Europe and in other countries. The company received the Frost & Sullivan 2005 Entrepreneurial Company of the Year award in the cardiovascular device market. The TAH-t was named the No. 1 advancement in Cardiovascular Medicine by the American Heart Association in 2004.

SynCardia Systems Inc. was formed in 2001 by Marvin J. Slepian, M.D., chairman of the board and chief scientific officer; and Richard G. Smith, MSEE, CCE, chief technical officer. Noted Cardiac Transplant and TAH-t surgeon, Jack Copeland, M.D. is on the board of directors of SynCardia Systems Inc. Slepian and Copeland also serve as instructors for the three-part training program required of hospitals adding TAH-t technology.

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About the SynCardia temporary Total Artificial Heart
SynCardia Systems, Inc. (Tucson, AZ) is the privately-held manufacturer of the world's first and only FDA, Health Canada and CE approved Total Artificial Heart. Originally used as a permanent replacement heart, SynCardia's Total Artificial Heart is currently approved as a bridge to transplant for people dying from end-stage biventricular heart failure. There have been more than 1,000 implants of the Total Artificial Heart, accounting for more than 250 patient years of life.

Similar to a heart transplant, SynCardia's Total Artificial Heart replaces both failing heart ventricles and the four heart valves, eliminating the symptoms and source of end-stage biventricular failure. Unlike a donor heart, the Total Artificial Heart is immediately available at SynCardia Certified Centers and does not require expensive anti-rejection medication, which can cause subsequent complications. It is the only device that provides immediate, safe blood flow of up to 9.5 liters per minute through both ventricles. This high volume of safe blood flow helps speed the recovery of vital organs, helping make the patient a better transplant candidate.

SynCardia Ranked #20 Among World's 50 Most Innovative Companies
In March 2011, Fast Company magazine ranked SynCardia #20 in its annual list of the "World's 50 Most Innovative Companies" for "giving mobility to artificial heart recipients." Weighing 13.5 pounds, SynCardia's Freedom® portable driver is the world's first wearable driver designed to power the Total Artificial Heart both inside and outside the hospital. The Freedom driver is CE approved for use in Europe and undergoing an FDA-approved Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) clinical study in the U.S.

For additional information, please visit: http://www.syncardia.com
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Media Contact:
Don Isaacs
Vice President of Communications
SynCardia Systems, Inc.
Cell: (520) 955-0660