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Artificial Heart Doubles Odds
of Living Another Year:
Heart transplant eligible patients, who are near death from
end stage biventricular heart failure, increase their odds
of living another year from 31 percent to 70 percent, when
they are bridged to transplant with the CardioWest TAH-t,
based on a comparison with a set of historical control patients
who were matched to the patients receiving the artificial
heart (New England Journal of Medicine 2004; 351: 859-867).
The CardioWest (TAH‑t) is an air-driven
pulsatile pump that is implanted as a bridge to human heart
transplantation in heart failure patients who have severe
biventricular failure. The failing native heart is removed
prior to implantation with the TAH‑t. The pump
is driven by a pneumatic Console (often termed “Big
Blue” because of its large size) that provides the compressed
air that is needed to operate the CardioWest TAH‑t.
After implantation of the CardioWest TAH‑t, most patients
experience improved blood perfusion to other organs in the
body, reversal of end organ dysfunction, physical rehabilitation,
improved quality of life and survival to heart transplantation.
Your cardiac healthcare professional will determine if you
are a candidate for the CardioWest TAH‑t.
CardioWest™ TAH‑t
Implantation:
In order to implant the device, the native diseased heart
(including the four native valves) is removed except for the
atria. Atrial Cuffs are sewn onto the atria and Outflow Grafts
are connected to the pulmonary artery and aorta. Once these
connections are completed, the left ventricle is snapped onto
the Left Atrial Cuff and the Aorta Outflow Graft. The
right ventricle is then snapped onto the Right Atrial Cuff
and the Pulmonary Artery Outflow Graft. The system is started
using the pneumatic Console. During ejection of the blood
from the heart, compressed air is pumped from the pneumatic
Console through the Drivelines to both the Right and Left
Ventricles. The compressed air pushes the Air Diaphragm up
causing blood to be ejected through the Outflow Grafts and
to the rest of the body. During filling of the ventricles,
blood passes from the atria through the Atrial Inflow Connecters
into the ventricles. Once blood enters the ventricles, it
pushes down on the Blood-Contacting Diaphragm, causing air
to be expelled out of the ventricles through the drivelines
and recycled back to the pneumatic Console.
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