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Tucson, Ariz.-January 18, 2007 - National
Geographic’s February Heart Month issue hits newsstands on Thursday, February
1 with the cover story, “Healing the Heart.” This 26-page article
includes 10 full pages of photographs featuring the CardioWest™ temporary
Total Artificial Heart (TAH-t). The CardioWest TAH-t is the modern version of
the Jarvik-7 artificial heart from the 1980’s.
Several photos document the struggle of 62 year old Berlin
patient, Siegfried Streiter, who was dying from end stage biventricular failure.
This fatal condition occurs when both sides of the heart no longer pump enough
blood to sustain the patient’s body.
On June 8, 2006, Professor Hetzer, M.D. Medical director
of the Berlin Heart Institute, removed Siegfried’s dying heart and implanted
the TAH-t. Twelve photographs showcase this life-saving surgery including a two
page spread of the implanted TAH-t in his open chest.
A special computer controlled ceiling camera captured
this four-hour surgery. Visitors to National Geographic’s web page at National
Geographic's Website can watch a short time lapse version of the surgery.
“Siegfried’s vital organs were shutting down;
he was within days of death,” explained Professor Hetzer. “We implanted
the CardioWest TAH-t because it is the best device for patients needing biventricular
support.”
The TAH-t is the only FDA and CE Mark approved temporary
Total Artificial Heart in the world. It is used to keep transplant eligible patients
alive until a matching donor heart can be transplanted. In the U.S., that can
take months and in Germany, up to a year and a half.
Since July 16, 2006, stable patients in Europe, like
Siegfried, are being discharged with the TAH-t Portable Driver. The
take-home driver is about the size of an attaché case and weighs only 20
pounds. It provides power to make the TAH-t pump blood like a human heart. At-home
care speeds recovery and eliminates in-hospital costs for this portion of patient
care. This driver allows many patients the freedom to leave home to shop, visit
friends, and live a fuller life.
Twenty heart transplant centers in North America and
Europe are currently able to implant the CardioWest TAH-t. In North America, those
centers are: University Medical Center in Tucson, AZ; Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland,
OH; Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA; Aurora St. Luke’s
in Milwaukee, WI; University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI; Penn State Hershey
Medical Center in Hershey, PA; Ohio State University in Columbus, OH; Hospital
University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, PA; Barnes Jewish Hospital in St.
Louis, MO; and Montreal Heart Institute in Quebec, Canada.
In Europe, the centers that are able to implant the CardioWest
TAH-t are: Groupe Hospitalier
La Pitié-Salpêtrière in Paris, France; Hôpital
Guillaume et René Laennec in Nantes, France; German
Heart Institute in Berlin, Germany; Heart
and Diabetes Center in Bad Oeynhausen, Germany; Herzzentrum
Leipzig GmbH Universitaetsklinik in Leipzig, Germany; Universitäts
Klinikum Freiburg in Freiburg, Germany; Universitätsklinikum
Münster in Munster, Germany; Herzzentrum
Köln in Cologne, Germany; University
Hospital Munich in Munich, Germany; and Friedrich-Alexander
University Hospital in Nuremburg, Germany.
# # #
Media contact:
SynCardia Director of Communications
Donald Isaacs
Cell: 520-955-0660
About the CardioWest™ temporary Total Artificial
Heart
The CardioWest™ TAH‑t is a pneumatic, biventricular, implantable bridge-to-transplant
system for full cardiac replacement, taking the place of the failing heart in
patients at imminent risk of death. The device offers full circulatory support,
the shortest blood path and exposure to artificial surfaces, and the highest level
of cardiac output when compared with other artificial heart systems previously
tested. With the CardioWest™ TAH‑t, patients become better candidates for
eventual transplantation and have post-transplant survival rates equal to that
of non-device cardiac recipients.
About SynCardia Systems
Founded in 2001, SynCardia Systems is the developer of biomechanical cardiac replacement
and assist devices. Its CardioWest™ temporary Total Artificial Heart (TAH‑t)
is designed for severely ill patients with end-stage congestive heart failure.
The device serves as an in-hospital bridge-to-transplantation for patients at
imminent risk of death. SynCardia Systems is based in Tucson, Arizona and is on
the Web at http://www.syncardia.com.
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