The total artificial heart is a mechanical device designed to replace a person's true heart when he suffers from late-stage heart failure .
In order to proceed with its implantation, a very careful preparation is required, which must start at least a week before the operation.
This preparation is a real pre-operative hospitalization, in which a team of doctors composed of cardiologists and cardiac surgeons examines the patient and evaluates his health conditions. If the outcome of the assessment is positive, the intervention is feasible and can proceed smoothly.
ASSESSMENT TESTS
Going into more detail, the tests that doctors use to assess the patient's condition are:
- A CT scan of the chest . It is useful for cardiac surgeons to understand if the patient's chest is large enough to contain the total artificial heart. This device, in fact, has certain dimensions and, in the case of too small thoraxes, is inadequate.
- Blood tests . Doctors need to know what the health status of the liver and kidneys is and how these organs are working. If they are fairly well - despite heart failure - surgery is possible.
- A chest X-ray . It serves the doctors who will operate the patient's thoracic anatomy. In fact, each individual has a different chest and with particularities that it is useful to know before a delicate operation such as the implantation of a total artificial heart.
- An electrocardiogram . It serves to evaluate definitively the state of functioning of the heart that is about to be replaced. It is a kind of confirmation-test.
