For the 20,000 people worldwide on the transplant list waiting for a new heart, the news is often grim: only around 25 percent receive a new heart before they die, TIME.com reports. Although an artificial heart is often called a total artificial heart, or TAH, the name is a misnomer, since the artificial heart is attached to the person's own heart atria, the upper chambers of the heart, and replaces only the heart valves and the ventricles, the lower chambers of the heart that pump blood, the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute explains. Artificial hearts have several benefits.
Availability
Unlike donor hearts, which must be carefully matched and which are in short supply, donor hearts are readily available, at least for 4,000 people, the maximum number of artificial hearts allowed to be implanted under the Food and Drug Administration's "humanitarian device exception" rule, which relaxes FDA rules for testing, David Brown of the "Washington Post" reported in September 2006. Artificial hearts also carry a high price tag, around $250,000, Brown notes.
Increased Quality of Life
For people not eligible for a heart transplant due to co-existing medical conditions, age or other factors, an artificial heart improves quality of life in end-stage heart failure. For people waiting for transplant, an artificial heart prevents deterioration of their medical condition or complications that could keep them off the transplant list by improving cardiovascular function.
Buying Time Until Transplant
For people waiting for transplant, artificial hearts buy time by keeping them alive until a suitable heart can be found. The Food and Drug Administration approved the CardioWest Artificial Heart based on studies which showed that 70 percent of people who received the artificial heart survived until transplant compared to 46 percent who survived without the heart.
Avoiding Immunosuppressive Medications
Patients with artificial hearts don't need to take immunosuppressive medications, which suppress the immune system and prevent rejection of a donor organ. Since immunosuppressive medications carry an increased risk of developing cancer as well as infection and kidney damage, avoiding immunosuppressive drugs would positively impact heart transplant patients.
Caveat
While artificial hearts have benefits, they don't work for everyone. Most artificial hearts are large, and are suitable only for people who have a chest cavity large enough to accommodate them. Artificial hearts operate on batteries that must be frequently recharged; patients must remain near a charging source. Patients must also take medication to prevent blood clots from developing in the artificial heart.
