Patient Story

Meet: Ernesto Gonzalez

• Age: 23 (at implant)
• Diagnosis: Dilated cardiomyopathy
• Implant date: Nov. 11, 2006
• Transplant date: Dec. 7, 2006
• Time on the Total: 26 days
• Residence: San Juan, Puerto Rico
• Hospital: Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center
• Surgeon(s): Drs. Vigneshwar Kasirajan & Gundars Katlaps

Ernesto's Story as told by his wife Rose Marie:

Ernesto and I met in Puerto Rico while getting ready to deploy to Iraq. We are both sergeants in the U.S. Army Reserve. We deployed on Oct. 3, 2004. We returned to the U.S. a year later on Oct. 3, 2005. We were married on Oct. 3, 2006 in the VA Hospital in San Juan. Today, we have four beautiful children: Alejandro, Armando, Diego and Dylan.

“I Knew Something Was Wrong”

Five months after returning from our deployment in Iraq, Ernesto failed his physical fitness test. I knew something was wrong. He complained he was always tired. I kept asking him to go to the hospital but he wouldn’t.

His health deteriorated to the point where he couldn’t even change his clothes without getting winded. He would put on his pants and then have to lie back on the bed to rest. Then he would put his shirt on and have to rest again. He was throwing up, his legs and body were swollen and he was having heart palpitations and trouble breathing.

Seeking Medical Treatment

He finally agreed to go to the public hospital on March 23, 2006. He was diagnosed that same day with dilated cardiomyopathy. He spent two weeks in the Puerto Rico hospital before being transferred to the VA Hospital in Puerto Rico. There he received an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD). Because of the seriousness of Ernesto’s heart problems, he was transferred to the VA Hospital in Virginia.

The doctors tried everything to help Ernesto including an intra-aortic balloon pump. His normal weight was around 160 lbs. He had already gone down to 90 lbs. Nothing seemed to work.

A Total Artificial Heart?

Dr. Katlaps, who works at both the VA hospital and Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center (VCU), told us about the SynCardia temporary CardioWest™ Total Artificial Heart. He said it was the best thing they could do to extend his life. Without it, he wouldn’t make it to a heart transplant. In November, they transferred Ernesto to VCU Medical Center because it was the only hospital in the state certified to implant the Total Artificial Heart.

We’d never heard of the Total Artificial Heart. It was hard to believe. The doctor told us about people in Europe that could go home with it using a portable driver. The doctors showed me and Ernesto’s parents the Total Artificial Heart and explained how it was going to work. Ernesto’s parents were in shock, they couldn’t believe it.

New Heart, New Hope, New Life

Ernesto was implanted with the Total Artificial Heart on Nov. 11, 2006. Within a day of waking up from surgery, he was extubated and eating. A few days later, he walked around the hospital for the first time. Over the next month, he gained 10 to 15 pounds and began power walking daily on the treadmill in the hospital gym.

Ernesto was on the Total Artificial Heart for 26 days:

• On Dec. 6, 2006, at 6 p.m., they told our family they had found a matching donor heart for him.
• At 3 a.m., the hospital called to say his chest was open and they were just waiting for the heart.
• By 7 a.m., the donor heart was beating in Ernesto’s chest.
• Two days later, he awoke with his new heart.

Ernesto was released from hospital on Jan. 20, 2007. We stayed in Virginia to be near the hospital for his weekly biopsies. We were able to return home to Puerto Rico by early February 2007.

Giving Thanks

We are very thankful for the Total Artificial Heart and the doctors at the VA Hospital and VCU Medical Center. Ernesto’s experience was great in the sense that everyone knew what they were doing. The doctors explained everything to us. Ernesto wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for the Total Artificial Heart. Today, he is back to his old self.