Press Release:

SynCardia's Total Artificial Heart

TUCSON, Ariz. – April 14, 2010 – On April 1, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire et Régional de Tours (CHRU Tours) in France, led by Prof. Michel R. Aupart, performed its first implant of the SynCardia temporary Total Artificial Heart into a 44-year-old male with ischemic heart disease who had suffered a heart attack that caused both sides of his heart to fail.

“This patient was in desperate need of the Total Artificial Heart to bridge him to a heart transplant,” said Prof. Aupart. “It was urgent for us to complete the three phases of certification training so that we could save his life by performing our first implant of the Total Artificial Heart.”

The surgery was proctored by Prof. Pascal Leprince, an experienced Total Artificial Heart surgeon from Groupe hospitalier de la Pitié-Salpétrière in Paris, which has performed over 200 implants of the Total Artificial Heart, more than any other hospital in the world.

CHRU Tours averages 800 cardiac surgeries annually (of which 200 are pediatric cases) and performed 23 heart transplants in 2009. Over 14 years, (1991-2005), CHRU Tours has achieved post-transplant survival rates of 91.3% at 1 year and 69.3% at 10 years.

CHRU Tours is the 30th hospital in the world and the third in France to become a SynCardia Certified Center.

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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