Overview

Artificial hearts are remarkable devices. Part of a mechanical system is hidden in the patient's chest where it either attaches to the organic heart or takes its place completely. A driveline perforates the patient's body either at their abdomen or behind their ear, carrying power and instructions from a small control and battery unit which the patient totes about with them. This is literally a lifeline without which the patient's circulation would cease and the patient die. Artificial hearts are a response to serious heart failure, an incurable condition which can only be managed medically to a limited extent. For some patients, artificial hearts are a bridge on the way to receiving a transplant heart from a deceased person. Heart transplantation remains the optimal response to serious heart failure, but the need for replacement hearts far outstrips the availability of suitable organs. For other patients, including those eligible for transplantation but for whom a heart never becomes available, artificial hearts are a destination therapy. Faced with alternatives of further deterioration or death, patients and carers are often grateful for the opportunity to receive these incredible interventions. But gratitude for an artificial heart does not mean that it resolves once and for all the drama of heart trouble

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9781835204849

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