24-year-old Stan Larkin has become the first man to survive on the Total Artificial Heart and being discharged from a hospital. Larkin totes a 13.5 pound driver in a backpack, which keeps the blood pumping in his body since his own heart is too weak to do the job on its own. The driver is what literally keeps him alive, and he carries it with him 24/7.
Larkin’s condition started when he was 16. During a routine game of basketball with some buddies, he became dizzy and blacked out. For the teenager, this was the first fainting spell he ever experienced, and a resulting trip to the doctor revealed that he had a genetic heart disorder known as arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia, or simply ARVD. The condition has been previously identified as the leading cause of death among teenage and young adult athletes.
Initially, Larkin was put on a defibrillator, and he was ordered to put a halt to his physically active lifestyle. By April of 2012, his heart began failing as it began retaining fluids, and he would need a heart transplant if he wanted to continue living. Being of O + blood type, however – which is one of the most common types – put him on a waiting list consisting of hundreds of other patients. Knowing that Larkin would most likely die before a heart became available, his doctors opted to outfit him with what is known as a Total Artificial Heart.
In October 2014, Larkin was admitted to the University of Michigan Hospital where he received the Total Heart Transplant the following month. He has since been discharged from the hospital and has become the first man to survive on the Total Artificial Heart outside a hospital.
Keep in mind, though, that the Total Artificial Heart isn’t meant to keep a patient alive permanently and is intended as a temporary solution until the patient receives a heart transplant. With the TAH, two tubes are inserted inside the body and another two are connected to a driver that sends compressed air into the ventricles to perform the function that his heart is incapable of.
The Total Artificial Heart isn’t a unique medical breakthrough, and there are several others of its kind. In 2013, a 75-year-old man from France received an artificial heart that allowed him to function normally, including speaking to his family and consuming foods on his own.
The story of a man surviving on an artificial heart has brought a renewed sense of hope for those who are unlikely to be selected for a heart transplant. At the very least, it extends the patients’ life so they get to have a little more time with their family.
[photo credit: Beth Scupham]
Man Survives On Artificial Heart, Sets A Whole New Medical Milestone
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire