"Over 1600 of these hearts have been implanted since 2003, helping patients to regulate blood flow to the rest of their body. Doctors at the Texas Heart Institute are now trying to find ways to completely replace the human heart. Their main concern is that the natural pumping function of a human heart may perform an important function. They are worried that this pumping function may prevent possible problems such as blood clots.
There are two major problems with current artificial hearts, and first is their size. The current artificial hearts are too big to be used in many people. While most of the people who need heart transplants have the body to fit them, they are just too big for younger adults and children. Since this new constant flow heart is so small in comparison, they would be able to accommodate a much larger range of people. The second problem is their functionality. The artificial hearts currently in production are mechanical, and often wear out after a few years, mainly due to mechanical failures."
I want to know more about this. No stasis would essentially eliminate cardiac thrombi, however, it may be true that the pulsations caused by the beating of the heart may be useful for driving blood and preventing thrombi in the peripheral vessels. What about shear stress like in mechanical heart valves that lead to anemia? And what about facilitating a surface for which bacteria in the blood can adhere? What about clogging of the device? How long do these devices last, and are they worth it? Maybe they are well enough for an intermediate fix between a biological heart transplant... Also, what about electrical fields, and are these people unable to get MRI's or defibrillator? Probably issues a problem there. Is there metal involved? It's also likely these devices will demonstrate a constant basal flow, but will not allow for the regulation of Blood pressure in the case of hemorrhagic, or fluid retention, or even exercise for that matter! The person will be essentially void of autonomic feedback mechanisms and have to adjust their activities. Finally, these are so large, can they fit in many people? I am certain smaller devices can be used. My god, can we really be able to replace the leading cause of death? Amazing...
Although, I think a much better solution would be to emphasize Preventative medicine and prevent the looming prevalence of heart disease in this country, instead of spending all this money trying to fix people in their terminal stages. These devices may be worth while in healthy, younger individuals with cardiac anomalies...
Heart Stop Beating | Jeremiah Zagar from Focus Forward Films on Vimeo.
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