Man Fitted With First Artificial Heart Dies After 75 Days

A man in his seventies with a terminal heart disease who was fitted with French biomedical firm Carmat's first artificial heart two and half months ago has died.

A man in his seventies with a terminal heart disease who was fitted with French biomedical firm Carmat's first artificial heart two and half months ago has died, a hospital statement confirmed Monday.

"Seventy-five days after the implant of the first Carmat artificial heart bioprosthesis in a 76-year-old man with a terminal heart disease, the patient died on March 2, 2014," the Georges-Pompidou European Hospital said.

Congestive Heart Failure (Congestive Cardiac Failure) Current Management
Congestive heart failure (CHF) is a condition in which the heart fails to work adequately as a pump that can deliver oxygen rich blood to the body.

Artificial hearts have already been in use for many years as a temporary fix for patients with chronic heart problems.

The Carmat product aims to provide a longer-term solution to bridge the wait for a donor heart and enable hospitalised patients to return home and maybe even resume work.

The hospital statement said the causes of death "will not be known until after a thorough analysis of the abundant medical and technical data that has been recorded".

Diet from Crete for Healthy Heart
Mediterranean diets, special attention has been given to the traditional Greek Cretan diet. It emphasises the consumption of olive oil, whole grains, pulses, wild greens, herbs and fruits.

The artificial heart, a self-contained unit implanted in the patient's chest, uses soft "biomaterials" and an array of sensors to mimic the contractions of the heart.

The patient had received his artificial heart on December 18, in a world first performed after the French government gave its green light to the operation in September.

Diet, Lifestyle and Heart Disease
The correlation between diet, lifestyle and heart disease. The importance of balanced diet life style and exercise for controlling heart disease.

The surgeons who carried out the ground-breaking operation and subsequently monitored the patient's progress were keen to "stress the significance of the initial findings drawn" from the experiment, the hospital's statement said.

They paid homage to the patient, who was "fully aware of what was at stake and -- with his trust, courage and will -- made a memorable contribution to the medical battle against a growing disease."

Heart Attack - Overview
Heart attack is the death of the heart muscle due to loss of blood supply. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. Other names for heart attack include acute myocardial infarction, coronary thrombosis, and coronary occlusion.

Nearly 100,000 people in Europe and the United States are in need of a heart transplant, according to Carmat.

A US rival to Carmat, an artificial heart called AbioCor, is authorised in the United States for patients with end-stage heart failure or life expectancy of less than 30 days, who are not eligible for a natural heart transplant and have no other viable treatment options.

Source-AFP