Press Release:

Dr. Steven Tsui, Consultant Surgeon & Director of Transplantation, Papworth Hospital

TUCSON, Ariz. – Feb. 3, 2011 – On Feb. 7, the surgical team from Papworth Hospital in Cambridge, United Kingdom, led by Dr. Steven Tsui, Consultant Surgeon & Director of Transplantation, will complete the first of four phases of certification to implant the SynCardia temporary Total Artificial Heart. Papworth is the 66th hospital in the world and the first hospital in the UK to begin certification for the Total Artificial Heart.

"We are very excited to have Papworth join our program," said SynCardia President Michael Garippa. "There are thousands of people suffering from biventricular failure in the UK who are out of options if a donor heart isn't immediately available. For these patients, the Total Artificial Heart will be available for the very first time as a life-saving bridge to transplant."

Papworth Hospital is the UK's largest specialist cardiothoracic hospital and the country's main heart and lung transplant center. Papworth is credited with performing the UK's first successful heart transplant in 1979. Currently, the median waiting time for an adult donor heart at Papworth is 183 days, with the hospital performing 23 heart transplants in 2010.  

According to the British Heart Foundation, approximately 700,000 people are living with heart failure in the UK. More than one in three of all deaths in the UK are caused by cardiovascular disease, which accounts for around 200,000 deaths each year. Overall, heart failure accounts for just over £625 million in total direct medical costs in the UK each year.

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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