Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

New Artificial Heart Technology Implemented

Aired July 03, 2001 - 09:48   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Some breakthrough medical news to us just in here at CNN. Doctors in Louisville, Kentucky report that a patient there is resting comfortably after receiving the first totally self-contained artificial heart device. The need for the device like this is incredible across the U.S. and around the world.

Rhonda Rowland now is going to tell us more about how the heart works, also about the need for more artificial hearts.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RHONDA ROWLAND, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The first artificial heart was implanted into Haskel Carp in 1969 by Dr. Denton Cooley of the Texas Heart Institute. The patient lived five days. The artificial heart most people remember is the Jarvik-7. Barney Clark was tethered to the device the size of a washing machine for 112 days in 1982. The device caused repeated strokes and infections.

DR. PATRICK MCCARTHY, CLEVELAND CLINIC: There were an awful lot of hype and a lot of attention to those first implants as if these were breakthrough devices that were going to be the answer for heart disease.

ROWLAND: Not only were they not the answer, but many heart specialists say those failures set the field back. Instead of trying to develop an artificial replacement heart, scientists turned their attention to so called assist devices designed to help the ailing heart or give it a rest.

MCCARTHY: The vast majority of patients, it's their main pumping chamber, the left ventricle, that is the problem. And so what we've learned is that if you just simply have a smaller efficient pump that takes over the work of the left ventricle then you don't need to replace the entire heart.

ROWLAND: These left ventricular assist devices or LVADs are often used as a bridge to a heart transplant. Patients are tethered to battery packs but can often live at home and resume normal activities. Researchers are now experimenting with a new generation of LVADs that are much smaller and hope they can permanently assist the heart so a transplant can be avoided. The new artificial heart, called the AbioCor, is designed to replace a patient's failing heart and be totally implantable. DR. MEHMET OZ, PRESBYTERIAN HOSPITAL AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: The major obstacles to all artificial devices, in particular the newer technologies, are making sure that patients have adequate quality of life. In fact, the device needs to be forgettable. You need to have it on and live your life and not worry about it. From a purely medical perspective, our major obstacles are infection and stroke.

ROWLAND: The AbioCor weighs about two pounds. A battery powered motor pumps blood through the body. An internal battery is continuously recharged by an external battery pack through an energy transfer device. Five heart patients will be implanted with the new AbioCor artificial heart. Their experience will determine if scientists have overcome the problems seen with the earlier devices or if it's back to the drawing board.

Rhonda Rowland, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: And once again, to fill you in on our breaking news out of Louisville, Kentucky, doctors there confirm that an American who was on what they say the brink of death has now received the first self-contained mechanical total heart replacement. That would make it a landmark experiment operation. Doctors say the patient is resting comfortably. That is all the details they give on the person who has received this artificial heart. We'll get more information on this and bring it to you as the morning goes on.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com