News Coverage

'Heartless' Virginia Supervisor Raises a Ruckus

NACO County News

December 2011

Jack Miller is one heartless politician. No, the Middlesex County, Va. supervisor isn't lacking in compassion or the milk of human kindness — quite the opposite, say those who know him.

He has no heart. It was removed Sept. 15 and replaced by an artificial one. His "total artificial heart" runs on air via two tubes through his abdomen that connect to an external battery-powered device... read more

Heart or Not, Middlesex Politician Keeps on Ticking

Richmond Times-Dispatch

December 2011

Jack Miller doesn't mind acknowledging that he ran a heartless campaign this fall to win re-election to the Middlesex County Board of Supervisors. He couldn't help it — not having his heart and all.

"I may be the only politician in history that has been participating without a heart — without a legitimate heart, I mean," Miller said with a laugh in a phone interview Friday from his home in Locust Hill.

By "legitimate," Miller means his own heart. Miller, 62, was diagnosed 11 years ago with degenerative heart disease. Over the years, his heart grew weaker and weaker. Doctors did what they could, but the thing finally reached the point of giving out, and something drastic needed to be done. So, on Sept. 15, surgeons at VCU Medical Center in Richmond removed Miller's heart — but not his sense of humor — and replaced it with a mechanical device that will keep him alive until a donor heart becomes available for a transplant... read more

Mesa Woman Wants a Heart for Christmas

CBS Phoenix

Dec. 22, 2011

Most girls Mia Welch's age would be asking for new clothes for Christmas, or maybe an iPad.

"Just waiting. Could be a good Christmas present," Welch said. Her wish list is short, and something no 21-year-old should need. "A new heart. I never thought I'd be asking for that, ever. But things change," Welch said. Change might be her word of the year.

Let us explain. First, if you spend time in Welch's hospital room, you'll hear a constant thump thump noise. She relies on that thumping sound to know she's still kicking. It comes out of a little box that contains her temporary heart... read more

She's Glad to be Looking Ahead to the Future

Houston Chronicle

Dec. 20, 2011

Shawn Galloway's list of things to be grateful for this holiday season may need a table of contents. She has successfully progressed through two life-saving surgeries within the last five months. Last July, the Cypress Fairbanks-area resident was one of four patients to receive an artificial heart at the Texas Heart Institute at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital. It was that procedure that kept her alive to receive a donor heart two months later... read more

A New Heart: After Living for Eight Months with a Mechanical Heart,
Margaret Daugherty is Back on Human Power

Richmond Times-Dispatch

December 2011

Margaret Daugherty's room is quiet. The constant churning noise from the portable machine that powered her artificial heart, the machine to which she was tethered for 223 days, is gone. The artificial heart is gone, too, replaced by the heart of an unknown woman, a donor about whom Daugherty knows little, except that she was a perfect match.

Daugherty also senses that she was someone who liked Labradors and spending time at the ocean. "The only thing I woke up wanting was a Corona and a lime, and a Labrador dog, and to be on the beach," she says with a smile, sitting up in an easy chair beside her bed at the VCU Pauley Heart Center. "Those were my impressions after I came to. A chocolate Lab and a yellow Lab were in my dream.

The fact that Daugherty woke up at all, that she's telling this story, is something of a miracle... read more

NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia Surgeons Are First in NYC Area
to Implant Total Artificial Heart

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center

Dec. 14, 2011

Surgeons at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center performed the first Total Artificial Heart implant in the New York City area to replace a patient's dying heart.

"For patients who will die without a heart transplant, the Total Artificial Heart helps them survive until they can get one. By replacing the heart, we are eliminating the symptoms and the source of heart failure," said lead surgeon Dr. Yoshifumi Naka, director of Cardiac Transplantation and Mechanical Circulatory Support Programs at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia and associate professor of surgery at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons... read more

1st Total Artificial Heart Patient on West Coast
Goes Home Using Freedom Driver

"The Doctors"

December 2011

Tammy, 46, became the first patient on the West Coast to be released from the hospital after receiving an artificial heart. Just eight days after her release, she joins The Doctors to talk about her second chance at life. For the past 17 years, Tammy has battled cardiovascular problems such as cardiomyopathy and congestive heart failure, and was placed on the heart transplant list. While awaiting her new heart, however, Tammy's health declined rapidly, and her outlook was grim until cardiothoracic surgeon Dr. Michael Bowdish, from the Keck Hospital of the University of Southern California, implanted the SynCardia temporary Total Artificial Heart... watch segment (3:22) | view promo (0:29)

SynCardia Systems Makes Forbes Promising Companies List

Phoenix Business Journal

Dec. 1, 2011

SynCardia Systems Inc., a Tucson-based manufacturer of artificial hearts, has landed on Forbes' list of the 100 most promising private companies in America. The medical device company checked in at No. 77 on the list, and was the the only Arizona company that made the cut. Forbes describes the companies on the list as, "up-and-comers with compelling business models, strong management teams, notable customers, strategic partners and precious investment capital"... read more

USC Discharges 1st Total Artificial Heart Patient on the West Coast Using Freedom® Portable Driver 

Keck Hospital of USC

November 2011

The Freedom® portable driver is CE approved for use in Europe and undergoing an FDA-approved Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) clinical study in the U.S. CAUTION – The Freedom driver is an investigational device, limited by United States law to investigational use.

PRINT:
Los Angeles Times – An Artificial Heart Offers a Real Chance
Modesto Bee – Heart Patient from Modesto on the Go with Device
The Daily Trojan – Keck Hospital Discharges Artificial Heart Recipient

TELEVISION NEWS:
CBS – Los Angeles – Artificial Heart Implant Marks A First For West Coast
*NOTE: This news story inaccurately states that SynCardia's Total Artificial Heart can support a patient for as long as 6 years. To date, the longest a patient has been supported by the Total Artificial Heart is 1,374 days prior to transplant, which is 86 days shy of 4 years.

Tammy Lumpkins' story also aired on these TV news stations:
CBS – Sacramento
CBS – San Diego
CBS – Monroe, LA
CW – Los Angeles

KECK HOSPITAL of USC:
Patient Story – Home is Where the Heart Is
YouTube Video – Artificial Heart Recipient Leaves Keck Hospital of USC

ASSOCIATED PRESS / LA TIMES: