Development of the Artificial Heart :: Medical Science Technology Health Essays

Development of the Artificial Heart Actual belief in the possibility of technology being used to create an artificial heart began in the 1950’s, soon after the successful implementation of a dialysis machine. With the ability to put a man on the moon, there was an general feeling that anything was possible. Thus, in 1964 the United States Government put $581,000 towards the establishment of a research program to develop a total artificial heart (TAH). (Caplan pg.30). The first viable mechanical heart was the Jarvik-7, which could keep animals alive for eight months. (Caplan pg.34). After much persuasion the FDA approved the implantation of the Jarvik-7 into human test subjects suffering from terminal heart disease. The first recipient of the Jarvik-7 was Barney Clark, on December 1, 1982. He survived on the mechanical heart for 112 days. However, during that time he suffered severe medical complications. He underwent three additional surgeries, on several occasions asked that the heart be deactivated, and went into a coma before finally dying. (Caplan pg.35). The second patient, William Schroeder, who received a Jarvik-7 on November 25, 1984, survived for 620 days before dying. He too was plagued by medical complications throughout those 620 days. On the nineteenth day he suffered a stroke and again, on the 94th day. From the 150th day onward he had subacute bacterial endocarditis. He suffered two more strokes, on day 163 and 352. A liver biopsy on the 444th day showed microabscesses. On the 590th day he was given a feeding gastrostomy, and a tracheostomy followed on day 612. Finally he died of respiratory failure, and sepsis. (Fox pg.126). After a few more trial implantations, which all followed same downhill course, the FDA withdrew the permission to implant any more TAH’s. From this point onward the research focused more on devices to assist the heart, rather than replace it. These devices were designed to take some of the stress off of the left ventricle of the heart, and were termed left ventricular assist devices or LVAD’s. The use of LVAD’s became more common throughout the 1990’s as a method of either resting the heart so that it could recuperate and continue on its own or prolonging the heart’s life until a donor heart became available.