Press Release:

The CardioWest temporary Total Artificial Heart

TUCSON, Ariz. – Jan. 18, 2007 – National Geographic’s February Heart Month issue hits newsstands on Thursday, February 1 with the cover story, “Healing the Heart.” This 26-page article includes 10 full pages of photographs featuring the CardioWest™ temporary Total Artificial Heart (TAH-t). The CardioWest TAH-t is the modern version of the Jarvik-7 artificial heart from the 1980’s.

Several photos document the struggle of 62 year old Berlin patient, Siegfried Streiter, who was dying from end-stage biventricular failure. This fatal condition occurs when both sides of the heart no longer pump enough blood to sustain the patient’s body.

On June 8, 2006, Professor Hetzer, M.D. Medical director of the Berlin Heart Institute, removed Siegfried’s dying heart and implanted the TAH-t. Twelve photographs showcase this life-saving surgery including a two page spread of the implanted TAH-t in his open chest.

A special computer controlled ceiling camera captured this four-hour surgery. Visitors to National Geographic’s web page at National Geographic’s Website can watch a short time lapse version of the surgery.

“Siegfried’s vital organs were shutting down; he was within days of death,” explained Professor Hetzer. “We implanted the CardioWest TAH-t because it is the best device for patients needing biventricular support.”

The TAH-t is the only FDA and CE Mark approved temporary Total Artificial Heart in the world. It is used to keep transplant eligible patients alive until a matching donor heart can be transplanted. In the U.S., that can take months and in Germany, up to a year and a half.

Since July 16, 2006, stable patients in Europe, like Siegfried, are being discharged with the TAH-t Portable Driver. The take-home driver is about the size of an attaché case and weighs only 20 pounds. It provides power to make the TAH-t pump blood like a human heart. At-home care speeds recovery and eliminates in-hospital costs for this portion of patient care. This driver allows many patients the freedom to leave home to shop, visit friends, and live a fuller life.

Twenty heart transplant centers in North America and Europe are currently able to implant the CardioWest TAH-t. In North America, those centers are: University Medical Center in Tucson, AZ; Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, OH; Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA; Aurora St. Luke’s in Milwaukee, WI; University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI; Penn State Hershey Medical Center in Hershey, PA; Ohio State University in Columbus, OH; Hospital University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, PA; Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, MO; and Montreal Heart Institute in Quebec, Canada.

In Europe, the centers that are able to implant the CardioWest TAH-t are: Groupe Hospitalier La Pitié-Salpêtrière in Paris, France; Hôpital Guillaume et René Laennec in Nantes, France; German Heart Institute in Berlin, Germany; Heart and Diabetes Center in  Bad Oeynhausen, Germany; Herzzentrum Leipzig GmbH Universitaetsklinik in Leipzig, Germany; Universitäts Klinikum Freiburg in Freiburg, Germany; Universitätsklinikum Münster in Munster, Germany; Herzzentrum Köln in Cologne, Germany; University Hospital Munich in Munich, Germany; and Friedrich-Alexander University Hospital in Nuremburg, Germany.

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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