What Ever Happened to the Jarvik 7 Artificial Heart?

(EMAILWIRE.COM, December 12, 2007 ) Salt Lake City – Dec. 12, 2007 – On Nov. 30 and Dec. 1, more than 200 surgeons, biomedical engineers and heart device executives gathered at the University of Utah to celebrate the first implant of the Jarvik 7 artificial heart on Dec. 1, 1982, and present the current state of artificial heart pumping technology.

“The artificial heart is the result of six decades of work by many of the giants in medicine. Over the last 25 years we have made major improvements in the areas of surgical technique, anticoagulation (blood management) and patient care protocols,” explained Steve Langford, vice president of clinical support for SynCardia Systems, Inc., manufacturer of the CardioWest™ temporary Total Artificial Heart (TAH-t).

Today, the modern version of the Jarvik 7, the CardioWest artificial heart, is the first and only temporary artificial heart to receive FDA, Health Canada and CE approval.

“When all other treatments fail, the CardioWest artificial heart is able to save the sickest of the sick,” explained cardiothoracic surgeon Dr. Jack Copeland. “These patients are often days, if not hours from death. Their survival is dependent on receiving a donor heart, or a CardioWest artificial heart as a bridge to human heart transplant.”

In the pivotal clinical study of the TAH-t published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM 2004; 351: 859-867), 79 percent of patients receiving the TAH-t survived to transplant. This is the highest survival rate for any device in the world.

In the 1990s, the Jarvik 7 technology was transferred to University Medical Center (UMC) in Tucson, Ariz., where it was renamed the CardioWest. Originally designed as a permanent replacement heart, UMC surgeon Dr. Copeland was the first surgeon to successfully use the artificial heart as a bridge-to-transplant in 1985.

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Media Contact:
SynCardia Systems, Inc.
Director of Communications
Don Isaacs
C: 520-955-0660

SynCardia Systems, Inc
Don Isaacs
520-955-0660
jdrumwright@syncardia.com