| Tucson,
Ariz. – June 21, 2007 – Marvin
J. Slepian, M.D., chairman and co-founder of SynCardia
Systems, Inc., the manufacturer of the CardioWest™
temporary Total Artificial Heart (TAH-t), will present
a prototype of a smaller TAH-t designed for use in women
at the 3rd Annual American Heart Association (AHA) Go
Red For Women event on June 21 at the Arizona Biltmore
Resort & Spa in Phoenix.
Dr. Slepian, the keynote speaker,
will present the smaller 50 cc TAH-t, specifically designed
for use in women, adolescents and smaller adults. SynCardia’s
70 cc CardioWest TAH-t, in use since the ’80s,
fits a majority of adult men and many women. The company
plans to have the 50 cc TAH-t in development by 2009.
All new devices require FDA review and approval prior
to being made available to the public.
The Go Red For Women campaign
raises awareness that heart disease is now the number
one killer of women, along with men, in the United States.
According to the AHA, cardiovascular disease kills more
than 480,000 women a year, nearly one per minute. Sixty-four
percent of women who experienced sudden death from coronary
heart disease had no previous symptoms.
“The risk for women is
even higher than men because they tend to show fewer
symptoms and are therefore less likely to seek early
treatment,” said Dr. Slepian, an interventional
cardiologist at University Medical Center in Tucson.
The CardioWest TAH-t is currently
used as a bridge to transplant. It keeps patients who
are suffering from end stage biventricular failure alive
while they wait for a human donor heart. It is the only
FDA and CE mark (for Europe) approved temporary total
artificial heart in the world.
TAH-t 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).
# # #
Media contact:
SynCardia Director of Communications
Donald Isaacs
Cell: 520-955-0660
Brent Heard (717) 531-4313
e-mail: bheard@hmc.psu.edu
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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