The total artificial heart is a mechanical device, designed to replace an individual's true heart when he suffers from late-stage heart failure .
The term heart failure is used to indicate a serious pathological condition that is established when the heart is severely ill and incapable of satisfying the blood demands of the organism to which it belongs.
It is defined at the last stage in all those cases where the only treatments that can still give life expectancy are heart transplantation or total artificial heart implantation.
The total artificial heart models, approved by the FDA (ie the American body responsible for assessing the safety of drugs and food) and currently in use, are the CardioWest and the Abiocor .
Although with differences, both consist of two artificial ventricles capable, once implanted in place of the "originals", of pumping blood into the lungs and towards the organs of the body.
TEMPORARY OR PERMANENT?
In case of severe heart failure, the best solution would be a human heart transplant. However, the demand for human hearts is clearly higher than the offer and this makes the wait for a "new" heart incompatible with life.
From this point of view, the total artificial heart represents an excellent temporary remedy, until a human heart suitable for the needs is available.
However, it must be specified that the mechanical device in question is designed to work permanently . Such use is made, for example, when heart transplantation is contraindicated.
