Press Release:

Oct. 18: Total Artificial Heart patient Troy Golden (middle) with his wife Darrla and Dr. Douglas Horstmanshof, heart failure cardiologist and co-director of the INTEGRIS Advanced Cardiac Care program, prior to being discharged from the hospital using the Freedom portable driver.

TUCSON, Ariz. – Oct. 26, 2010 – On Oct. 18, 45-year-old Troy Golden became the second patient in the U.S. to leave the hospital using the Freedom® portable driver to power his SynCardia temporary Total Artificial Heart. The pastor from Geary, Okla. was discharged from INTEGRIS Baptist Medical Center to wait for a matching donor heart at home with his family and friends.

"I'm ecstatic to go home," Golden told the media on the day of his discharge. "I'm ecstatic that this artificial heart has given me a chance to wait for a heart transplant."

Golden is participating in an FDA-approved Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) clinical study of the 13.5 lb Freedom driver, the first portable driver designed to power SynCardia's Total Artificial Heart both inside and outside the hospital. The IDE clinical study is designed to demonstrate that the Freedom driver is a suitable pneumatic driver for stable Total Artificial Heart patients and can be safely used at home.

Troy Golden is only the second Total Artificial Heart patient in U.S. history to be discharged from the hospital to wait for a matching donor heart at home using the Freedom portable driver.

"If this new technology can help prolong the lives of others suffering from end-stage heart failure and I can play a small role in it, then it will all be worth it," said Golden.  

Currently, the only FDA-approved driver for powering the Total Artificial Heart is the 418 lb "Big Blue" hospital driver. Patients supported by Big Blue are confined to the hospital until they receive a heart transplant.

Golden was born with a genetic condition called Marfan syndrome that has been slowly attacking his heart since birth. In 2006, he underwent an aortic valve replacement, an aortic root repair, a mitral valve replacement and the Maze rhythm procedure on his atrium. In January, he was put on the heart transplant list, but his condition continued to deteriorate, until he could barely raise his head off his pillow. On Sept. 15, he became the first person in the region to have his heart replaced with the Total Artificial Heart as a bridge to transplant. Within a month, Golden's condition was stable enough for him to be discharged home.

INTEGRIS Baptist Medical Center is the second hospital to participate in the FDA-approved Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) clinical study of the Freedom portable driver.

"This is almost like performing a resurrection," said Dr. James Long, cardiovascular surgeon and director of the INTEGRIS Advanced Cardiac Care program. "This is taking someone who was checking out and giving them life, and life abundantly."

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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