Press Release:

Dr. Marvin Slepian, SynCardia Chairman and Co-Founder

TUCSON, Ariz. – June 21, 2007 – Marvin J. Slepian, M.D., chairman and co-founder of SynCardia Systems, Inc., the manufacturer of the CardioWest™ temporary Total Artificial Heart (TAH-t), will present a prototype of a smaller TAH-t designed for use in women at the 3rd Annual American Heart Association (AHA) Go Red For Women event on June 21 at the Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa in Phoenix.

Dr. Slepian, the keynote speaker, will present the smaller 50 cc TAH-t, specifically designed for use in women, adolescents and smaller adults. SynCardia’s 70 cc CardioWest TAH-t, in use since the ’80s, fits a majority of adult men and many women. The company plans to have the 50 cc TAH-t in development by 2009. All new devices require FDA review and approval prior to being made available to the public.

The Go Red For Women campaign raises awareness that heart disease is now the number one killer of women, along with men, in the United States. According to the AHA, cardiovascular disease kills more than 480,000 women a year, nearly one per minute. Sixty-four percent of women who experienced sudden death from coronary heart disease had no previous symptoms.

“The risk for women is even higher than men because they tend to show fewer symptoms and are therefore less likely to seek early treatment,” said Dr. Slepian, an interventional cardiologist at University Medical Center in Tucson.

The CardioWest TAH-t is currently used as a bridge-to-transplant. It keeps patients who are suffering from end-stage biventricular failure alive while they wait for a human donor heart. It is the only FDA and CE mark (for Europe) approved temporary total artificial heart in the world.

TAH-t Doubles Odds of Living Another Year – Heart transplant eligible patients who are near death from end-stage biventricular heart failure increase their odds of living another year from 31 percent to 70 percent when they are bridged-to-transplant with the CardioWest TAH-t, based on a comparison with a set of historical control patients who were matched to the patients receiving the artificial heart (New England Journal of Medicine 2004; 351: 859-867).

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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