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Comment by josephcsible | Hacker News Reader

I wonder why an artificial heart wasn't an option here.

Other places that are reporting on him say "He was deemed ineligible for an artificial heart pump due to uncontrollable arrhythmia."

I jumped onto Wikipedia to figure out why arrhytmia might be a problem, and it looks like "artificial heart pump" might stand for a VAD (Ventricular Assist Device), as in it pumps blood and it helps, but the original organ remains in circuit.

Yes, and good examples are the Heartmate 2 and 3. Both have been implanted in tens of thousands of people.

"The patient, David Bennett, 57, knew there was no guarantee the experiment would work but he was dying, ineligible for a human heart transplant and had no other option, his son told The Associated Press."

Yes, "had no other option" confirms that an artificial heart wasn't an option, but it doesn't say why it wasn't.

Yes, it doesn't say why it wasn't.

Yeah!

It seems like those are not quite there yet: How to Build an Artificial Heart https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/03/08/how-to-build-a...

A bunch of people do have artificial hearts. I'm wondering what about this patient made one not suitable for him.

Maybe cost? Those things ain't cheap.

Yes they are. The syncardia TAH, Heartmate 2 and 3, Carmet, etc.

All with severe limitations

Not really. Patients are able to leave the hospital, go home and resume normal life. They need to charge and maintain batteries on their person, and maintain the driveline exit site but all in all they have less limitations than say someone on dialysis.

Of course current LVADs are better than being dead, but still significantly worse than having a healthy heart, or transplant.

Heartmate III is one of the best and here are some summary outcomes[1]:

2 year survival after LVAD implant is around ~75%

2 year chance of stroke is ~10%

2 year chance of major infection is 58%, and sepsis is 15%

2 year chance of right heart failure is 34%.

Quality of life post implant and depression are real concerns. Some smaller studies have shown 5 year suicide rates as high as 10% following LVAD implantation.

Don't get me wrong, they are a miracle of modern science and engineering, but have limitations. There are reasons why they are not a destination therapy for people eligible to receive transplants.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ejhf.2211

Indeed, well said. It's important to also note that 2 year survival rates after a heart transplant are similar, 75%-80% survival 2 years after a heart transplant.

I wonder if it's possible that a pig heart might actually be better than an artificial one? I don't know enough about the state of the art in either to even guess myself.

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