Press Release:

After he received his Total Artificial Heart, Andrzej Bielak was able to return to running his household goods store thanks to the European portable driver.

TUCSON, Ariz. – July 16, 2009 – For a year and a half, Andrzej Bielak lived as a self-described “half man, half machine.” Everywhere he went, he was accompanied by the “beautiful ticking” of the SynCardia temporary CardioWest™ Total Artificial Heart that kept him alive.

“You can have a good life with the Total Artificial Heart,” said Bielak. “You need the help of your family of course, but the difference between living with a Total Artificial Heart and a human heart is less than you would expect.”

In 2006, Bielak suffered a heart attack that left his heart muscle severely damaged. Doctors told him that if he didn’t get a heart transplant, he would have only months to live. Bielak slipped into a coma for 12 weeks and no donor heart became available. To save his life, on Nov. 20, 2006, doctors decided to implant the Total Artificial Heart.

Andrzej Bielak holds the world’s only approved Total Artificial Heart which pumps blood up to 9.5 L/min through both ventricles. Bielak was successfully bridged-to-transplant after 18 months of life with the Total Artificial Heart.

Over the next month, Bielak’s health improved dramatically. On Dec. 22, he was discharged from the Heart & Diabetes Center NRW in Bad Oeynhausen, Germany, using a portable driver to power his Artificial Heart. He returned home to Backnang, Germany, to wait for his matching donor heart with his family and friends.

“Living with the Total Artificial Heart and the portable driver helped me enjoy an independent, high-quality life,” said Bielak. “I was able to return to work, go on walks, do housework, go shopping, play darts and attend birthday parties.”

On May 20, 2008, the hospital notified Bielak that a potential donor heart had been found. The next day, Bielak received the heart transplant he had been waiting 18 months for. Three days later, Bielak awoke to see his wife of 23 years sitting on his bed, holding his hand. “It was the most beautiful moment of my life,” Bielak said.

Normally, the recovery time for heart transplant patients is five weeks. However, just three weeks after his transplant, Bielak was released from the hospital to return home with his new heart.

“Today, I live a smooth life,” said Bielak. “My first priority in life is my family now. I speak with many people about my story, about living with the Total Artificial Heart and about the need for donor hearts.”

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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