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American Morning

First Self-Contained Artificial Heart Goes Online

Aired July 03, 2001 - 10:20   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: We have word this morning of a major medical development that brings new hope for heart patients. A patient at Jewish Hospital in Louisville, Kentucky has received the first experimental self-contained artificial heart. The new heart is considered a huge leap from earlier mechanical devices. And joining us more to talk about how the heart works and what it could mean for other heart patients, Dr. Sanjay Gupta. Dr. Gupta, good morning. Thank you for joining us.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thank you.

KAGAN: Explain to us, how does this thing work?

GUPTA: Well, we've certainly come a long way from 1969 when the first implanted heart was placed. That patient lived for five days and certainly recall images from the 1980s when Barney Clark had a heart implanted. He lived for 112 days but was plagued by strokes and infections.

One of the big advances in this particular implanted heart is that there's these new micro batteries that actually prevent the need for any wires to actually be transmitted through the skin and thus lower the need for infection -- or lower the risk of infections. And also, it's completely seamless so there's less blood that is actually trapped within the implant, lowering the risk for clots and subsequent strokes from those clots going to the brain.

KAGAN: And we mentioned that this was just implanted. It was a heart patient. But this is somebody who is sick who would get a heart like this. What is it made of?

GUPTA: Right. The heart itself is actually made out of titanium and Angioflex. Titanium, incidentally, is completely biocompatible, which really lowers the risk of any possible rejection. Angioflex, interestingly, is a very durable material that can withstand the hundred thousand or so beats per day that a heart will actually undergo, a hundred thousand beats per day. It has to be able to withstand that, not collect any blood within the chambers and subsequently be able to pump the blood through the rest of the body without any clots.

KAGAN: So I would imagine the person who would get a heart like this would be somebody who's waiting for a heart transplant and who's very, very sick and a heart hasn't become available yet? GUPTA: Exactly. In fact, I think some of the indications specifically are that they are likely to die within 30 days of their heart disease. I should point out, as well, Daryn, that there are a lot of advantages over transplants. There's about 700,000 people a year or so who have failing hearts and only 2,000 donors per year. Now, that's obviously not enough donors so you can actually implant this heart in some of those patients. It's less costly and it also removes the need for immunosuppression, a lot of the toxic drugs that you need to take with transplants. So, some advantages.

KAGAN: But so far, I mean this is a big advancement in the technology, but it's not so far that this patient in particular and patients right now can get this artificial heart and they're set for the rest of their lives?

GUPTA: That's right. And we don't know the long term data yet. The two biggest breakthroughs, it seems, from this particular heart is the lower chance of infection and the lower chance of stroke. You don't have wires going through your skin and some big, big processor that you carrying on a belt with the wires going through, and you also have blood going through the implant seamlessly so clots don't form, no strokes. Those are the two big advantages but we don't know the long term data yet.

KAGAN: Still experimental, but promising nonetheless.

GUPTA: Exactly.

KAGAN: Sanjay Gupta, thank you.

GUPTA: Thank you.

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