University of Michigan hospital discharges patient with artificial heart

The University of Michigan Frankel Cardiovascular Center recently discharged a 24-year old patient with a total artificial heart, allowing him to return home without a human heart while he waits for a heart transplant.

This patient is part of a growing number of patients in the United States who have received the temporary artificial heart.

The patient received the SynCardia temporary Total Artificial Heart along with the Freedom portable driver, which was approved in July by the FDA for use as a bridge to transplantation in cardiac transplant candidates who are clinically stable, according to a university press release.

The 13.6-lb Freedom driver, which powers the Total Artificial Heart, can be carried in a backpack, shoulder bag, walker or a rolling caddy. Similar to a heart transplant, the Total Artificial Heart was designed to eliminate the source of end-stage biventricular failure by replacing both failing ventricles and the heart valves, according to information from SynCardia.

The patient has right ventricular dysplasia, and was first implanted with a defibrillator but later underwent cardiogenic shock. His heart was replaced with the temporary Total Artificial Heart in November. Initially, he was connected to the “Big Blue” driver, a 418-lb hospital driver, which was the only FDA-approved driver for the SynCardia temporary Total Artificial Heart prior to the development of the Freedom portable driver, according to the release.

He is the first patient in Michigan to transition to the portable driver and also the first to be discharged with this device. He is required to remain close to a power supply, maintain a low-sodium diet and received treatment with blood thinners, according to the release.

The patient was discharged in late December.

“He’s still listed for a heart transplant, and we hope to transplant him as soon as an organ is available,” Jonathan Haft, MD, cardiac surgeon at the University of Michigan, stated in the release. “In the meantime, he can be at home, he can be functional and continue to rehabilitate himself so he’s in the best possible shape when his opportunity comes.”

In related news, SynCardia recently announced that the FDA has approved a request to evaluate the Total Artificial Heart as a potential permanent replacement for a human heart in a study of 19 patients.

Source: www.healio.com