WASHINGTON, Mar 27 (AFP): An artificial heart may help patients survive while awaiting a heart transplant, although the devices remain risky 10 years after they were approved, according to a US study Thursday.
Researchers followed 22 patients with end-stage heart failure over the course of two months, to see how they responded to implantation with a Syncardia total artificial heart, the only such device that is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration.
By the end of the 60 day period, five of the patients had died, said the research presented at the American College of Cardiology conference in Washington.
Among the rest, four had undergone successful heart transplants and 13 were alive and awaiting donor hearts.
"We were pleased to see how well many of these patients did," said lead author Swaminatha Gurudevan, a cardiologist at Cedars- Sinai Heart Institute, where the study was carried out from 2012 to 2013.
Artificial hearts can be a temporary fix : Study
FE Team | Published: March 28, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00
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