![]() ![]() After another decade and a half of NIH-supported research, the Jarvik 7 heart became the first total artificial heart implanted as a permanent replacement for a hopelessly diseased natural heart. In 1969, Denton Cooley performed the first implantation of a temporary total artificial heart, and the primitive device sustained the patient for almost three days until a donor was found through an urgent appeal in the press. Then in 1967, Christian Bernard performed the first human heart transplant, an event that generated worldwide interest: People were suddenly aware of heart replacement as a way to treat a failing heart. In the 60s and 70s, mechanical hearts were being developed by the National Institutes of Health ( NIH) but were largely unknown to the public. For example, a total artificial heart is required when an assist device will not do, as in cases of biventricular failure when both sides of the natural heart falter. But while ventricular assist devices find wider application in patients than total artificial hearts, experts view the two as complementary treatments. But consider this question: If you had a failing arm or leg, would you rather have the best-possible artificial limb or a device that allowed you to keep your own arm or leg?” “It is no surprise that more public attention is given to replacing a heart than to assisting one. ![]() Jarvik, who began developing a tiny ventricular assist device, the Jarvik 2000, in 1988. “Removing a person’s heart is one of the most dramatic surgical procedures one can imagine,” says Dr. In essence, two types of artificial hearts exist: the total artificial heart - which is implanted after the natural heart is removed - and the ventricular assist device - which is implanted to assist the natural heart, leaving the patient’s own heart in place and still functioning. Jarvik to discuss common mistakes and misimpressions about the first permanent artificial heart, a device that is still used today and has the highest success rate of any mechanical heart or assist device in the world. As a result, outdated and erroneous accounts have made their way into mainstream discussions of the Jarvik 7 time and time again. But as doctors learned how to achieve excellent clinical outcomes in subsequent patients with the Jarvik 7, the press and public largely lost interest in the subject. The extraordinary openness of this medical experiment, facilitated by the University of Utah, fueled heated public debate on all aspects of medical research. In 1982, the first implantation of the Jarvik 7 in patient Barney Clark caught the attention of media around the world. Robert Jarvik, MD is widely known as the inventor of the first successful permanent artificial heart, the Jarvik 7.
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