Press Release:

Jim Fijalkovich was implanted with the CardioWest artificial heart on May 26. After 59 days of life with the CardioWest artificial heart, on July 24, Jim received a donor heart transplant. He is pictured here one week after transplant with his 9-year-old son, Jesse.

TUCSON, Ariz. – Oct. 8, 2008 – After a six-year battle with heart disease that included numerous medications, trips to the emergency room and surgery to implant a pacemaker, 40-year-old Jim Fijalkovich found himself in the Intensive Care Unit at an Ohio hospital. Both sides of his heart were dying and he was in desperate need of a transplant.

“I swelled up like a grapefruit because my heart wasn’t pumping enough blood. My kidneys and liver had started shutting down,” explained Jim. “The doctors said my only options were to receive an immediate heart transplant or, if a matching donor heart couldn’t be found, a CardioWest™ temporary Total Artificial Heart.”

Doctors implanted Jim with the CardioWest artificial heart on May 26, 2008. After two months of life with the artificial heart, Jim, who was once hours from death, got the news he’d been waiting for.

After receiving his heart transplant, Jim couldn’t wait to get back on his motorcycle. On Sept. 3, he was cleared by his doctors to go on a multi-day road trip with his son.

“I had been really good about following the strict hospital diet, but a buddy of mine called me and offered me anything I wanted to eat,” said Jim. “I told him, ‘Heck yeah! Bring me a slab of ribs from Hot Sauce Williams.’ No sooner did I get done sucking the meat off the last bone, my nurse runs in and tells me, ‘Put down the BBQ ribs! We’ve found you a donor heart!’ ”

Before his transplant, Jim had been walking three miles a day with his artificial heart, two on the treadmill and one around the hospital floor. The artificial heart combined with diet and exercise helped make him a healthier transplant candidate.

“Before I got transplanted, I was pushing 450-lb ‘Big Blue’ for one or two laps around the hospital each day,” said Jim. “It was easy, a piece of cake. I wasn’t even out of breath.”

“Now we can go back to doing stuff together like we did before my dad’s heart got sick,” said Jim’s 9-year-old son, Jesse.

After his heart transplant, Jim couldn’t wait to get back on his motorcycle. On Sept. 3, Jim was cleared by his doctors to take a road trip with his 9-year-old son, Jesse.

“Now we can go back to doing stuff together like we did before my dad’s heart got sick,” said Jesse.

“I cannot explain the gift the CardioWest artificial heart has given me to have more time with my son,” said Jim. “It saved my life and kept me going for 59 days while they found me a new heart. Today, I feel like the six million dollar man.”

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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 950 implants of the Total Artificial Heart, accounting for more than 230 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