Press Release:

Dr. Nicholas Smedira, Cleveland Clinic

TUCSON, Ariz. – June 11, 2009 – SynCardia Systems, Inc., manufacturer of the SynCardia temporary CardioWest™ Total Artificial Heart, has honored the following transplant centers for achieving 100% success rates for 5 or more consecutive patients implanted with the Total Artificial Heart. Patient success is defined as bridged-to-transplant or currently listed for transplant.

• Phoenix-area hospital – 9 in a row
  


• Cleveland Clinic – 7 in a row
  Dr. Nicholas Smedira – Director of the Cardiac Transplantation and Ventricular Assist Device Therapies Program
   




Dr. Vigneshwar Kasirajan, VCU Medical Center

• Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center - 5 in a row
  Dr. Vigneshwar Kasirajan - Chair of the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery
   


• German Heart Institute Berlin (DHZB) – 5 in a row
  Prof. Roland Hetzer - Chairman, Professor of Surgery, Medical Director

"We have implanted 22 of the SynCardia Total Artificial Hearts and have had very good outcomes,” said Dr. Kasirajan. “We have had fewer complications with infection or embolic events with the Total Artificial Heart than with left ventricular assist devices.”

VCU Medical Center and the Phoenix-area hospital were honored as 100% Centers for the second consecutive year.

Prof. Roland Hetzer, German Heart Institute Berlin

Since becoming a SynCardia Certified Center in August 2007, the Phoenix-area hospital has achieved a 92% overall success rate. Out of 12 patients, 11 are successes: 9 have been transplanted and 2 are currently waiting for a matching donor heart.

Since becoming a SynCardia Certified Center in April 2006, VCU Medical Center has achieved an 86% overall success rate. Out of 22 patients, 19 are successes: 15 have been transplanted and 4 are currently waiting for a matching donor heart.

“People who need the Total Artificial Heart are often days, if not hours from death,” said Rodger Ford, CEO and President of SynCardia. “SynCardia Certified Centers are saving the ’sickest of the sick’ by bridging them to life with the Total Artificial Heart.”

 
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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