Free Post 3: Artificial Hearts

Part of the reason I chose to do my blog about bioengineering is because I was interested in prosthetics and implants. So this week I decided to look into artificial hearts. I found a great article about it through a website called How Stuff Works. I learned a lot about how these hearts work, and what it takes to get them put in.

The only successful hearts are called AbioCore hearts. These hearts are roughly the size of a grape fruit. The operate through a hydraulic pump that pumps blood to the lungs then the rest of the body. This differs from a normal heart in that a natural heart pumps to both at the same time. It is powered by a battery implanted into the patient’s abdomen along with a controller that regulates the speed of the heart. This battery has a life span of about 40 minutes without being charged. Luckily there is an external battery that is easy to charge the battery with. This is connected to the external battery through a nifty contraption that uses magnetic coils to transfer the power to leads across the skin wireless. This means that the internal system is not actually connected to anything external.

These hearts have only been used sparsely for a variety of reasons. First the procedure to replace the native heart with this new one is a grueling 7 hour procedure. Secondly their use is restricted to people who have been rejected for natural hearts, have a life expectancy of 30 days or less, and suffer from severe cardiac failure. This type of heart transplant has only been attempted 12 times. The patients have an average survival time of several months with the device. This is outstanding because the heart was only designed to double the survival time of the patients. Instead of living an extra month they live an extra 4 or 5 months before they die.

When I first read this article I was surprised that the artificial heart was a fairly uncommon thing. I thought that it seemed like a device everybody would want. Granted it has more complications than a heart transplant. However, there are thousands of heart transplants done every year and there have only been 12 artificial implants done. I understand that these procedures are incredibly expensive, with the device and manpower required, but I think more than 12 patients with qualifications for the heart could afford it. I also read that the last time one of these surgeries was preformed was in 2004. It is currently restricted by the Food and Drug Administration. The hearts is being pushed to be sold without approval by the FDA.

Works Cited

Bonsor, Kevin. ”How Artificial Hearts Work” How Stuff Works. Discovery. 2011. Web. 19 Seprember 2013.