Intermountain Press Release

Salt Lake City—Members of the Utah Artificial Heart Program at LDS Hospital returned from Greece, where they participated in the first human implant of a unique artificial heart device – which contains no touching internal parts – that was developed in Utah and is being tested in European clinical trials.

The event is the latest medical milestone for LDS Hospital's artificial heart program, which is one of the top implant centers in the nation and a pioneer in artificial heart technology and heart pump research.

"What's revolutionary about this device is that there's no friction – mechanical wear-out is virtually non-existent," said James Long, MD, director of the Utah Artificial Heart Program at LDS Hospital, at a press conference held to announce the milestone implant. The first generation heart-assist device could be implanted in a patient for up to two years before it wore out; the next model could last for four years. The new device could last for 10 years, Dr. Long says.

Pump uses magnetic levitation to suspend its spinning rotor. The heart pump, the WorldHeart rotary ventricular assist device, or VAD, uses. advanced, next-generation technology in which magnetic levitation fully suspends its spinning rotor, its only moving part, inside a compact housing. Researchers expect the simple and unique design to provide optimal reliability and duration. The VAD, manufactured by WorldHeart Corporation, is the only bearingless, fully-magnetically levitated implantable pump under study in clinical trials.

Dr. Long, who participated in the March 8 surgical implant, said the 67-year-old Greek patient who suffered from congestive heart failure, is doing well. Without the implant, the patient likely would have died.

The need for artificial heart technology is great. Congestive heart failure afflicts 4.7 million Americans and is responsible for nearly 300,000 deaths annually. A heart transplant is traditionally the only treatment hope for patients, but many are ineligible for transplants due to other medical complications or advanced age. Less than 2,500 donor hearts are available each year for more than 50,000 people. As a result, between 25,000 and 50,000 patients die each year while waiting for a human donor heart to become available.

What's it like to get an artificial heart device when your heart is barely working? "It was such a wonderful relief because I knew I was dying and I found out I could live again," said Jack Larsen, who received an earlier-generation implant last year at LDS Hospital. His device clicks as it pumps blood and his grandchildren call him their "tickety-tock grandpa," he said. The new VAD, by contrast, is so quiet you can't even hear it hum.

The Heart & Lung Research Foundation at LDS Hospital provided a significant amount of seed money for the development of the pump when the device was just in its earliest conceptual stages. "The Heart & Lung Research Foundation provided critical seed funding for this project, which allowed it to get off the ground. This seed money that the Foundation provides is vital to helping new technology and research make its way to clinical use and benefit for patients around the world," says Ronald Hanson, chair of the Heart & Lung Research Foundation at LDS Hospital.

LDS Hospital is one of the leading artificial heart centers in the country. It's been involved in the development and research of heart pumps for more than two decades. Currently, the Utah Artificial Heart Program at LDS Hospital is among the nation's top five centers implanting these devices.

"My hope is that a year from now we'll be at LDS Hospital talking about the first implant of this new device in the United States," says Dr. Long, who is hopeful that a clinical trial of the device in the United States by next year. "The team here is truly the best in the world. People from throughout the will pay tribute to what's going on in Utah."