Bridge to Life — Cardiac Mechanical Support

Abstract

Even with well-managed care, many patients with severe heart failure reach a stage at which medical therapy is insufficient to sustain an acceptable level of cardiac function. It is estimated that 0.2% of persons over 45 years of age in the United States, or nearly 200,000 people, may fit this description.¹ Since only approximately 2000 donor hearts are available in the United States each year for transplantation, the need for another approach to cardiac replacement is well established.Investigators and the medical-device industry have been pursuing the development of mechanical cardiac support for more than four decades. The earliest forms . . .