Mechanical Cardiac-Support Devices — Dreams and Devilish Details

Abstract

Statistics on the human and economic impact of the syndrome of heart failure in the United States have been well described, but they deserve further emphasis.¹ The incidence of heart failure approaches 10 per 1000 population after the age of 65 years, so that nearly 5 million Americans have this condition today. Despite great advances in medical and surgical management, the five-year mortality rate continues to be about 50 percent; sudden death from cardiac causes occurs among persons with heart failure at six to nine times the rate in the general population. From 1979 to 1998, deaths due to this . . .