Press Release:

Joseph Cox received his donor heart transplant after 39 days of life with the SynCardia Total Artificial Heart. He is pictured here with his partner of nine years, Karen Cottrell.

TUCSON, Ariz. – Dec. 17, 2009 – On Dec. 2, 29-year-old Joseph Cox was discharged from Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Medical Center with his new donor heart after 39 days of life with the SynCardia temporary CardioWest™ Total Artificial Heart. Cox was VCU’s 25th patient to receive the Total Artificial Heart and the 10th implant of 2009.

“The patients who get the Total Artificial Heart are the sickest of the patients,” said Cox’s surgeon Dr. Vigneshwar Kasirajan, Chair of the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery. “They are very ill – their life expectancy is measured in days and weeks. We have implanted a total of 27 Total Artificial Hearts in the last two and a half years. None of these patients would have done well with a conventional device because they were just too sick for an LVAD.”

Click the image above to see a video of Joseph Cox and his Total Artificial Heart surgeon, Dr. Vigneshwar Kasirajan.

Cox was hospitalized after suffering 50 blood clots and two strokes. According to Cox, he was supposed to receive a Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD), but his heart became so sick that on Oct. 6, his doctors implanted the Total Artificial Heart instead. He received his matching donor heart on Nov. 14.

“Before the Total Artificial Heart, I had no energy, I always wanted to sleep, I didn’t want to eat,” said Cox. “Now, I can play football and basketball with the kids and return to work. You’ve got to keep faith and be strong in everything. You can’t just give up on life.”

Since Cox’s implant, two more patients have received Total Artificial Hearts at VCU Medical Center, totaling 12 implants this year and 27 overall. Both patients are currently on the device waiting for a matching donor heart transplant.

“This experience made me realize life is nothing to play with,” said Cox’s partner of nine years Karen Cottrell. “We’ve gone through a lot, we’ve seen a lot and we’ve learned a lot. He’s doing amazing and God is good.”

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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