For three years, my father has been living a life that deteriorates day by day: He has an enlarge heart along with other heart complications such as Arrhythmias, Congestive heart failure, and low blood pressure. He has had minor heart attacks.
An enlarge heart is not a condition, but a symptom of an underlying problem that is causing the heart to work harder than normal
He was born with the heart, but didn’t follow what doctors told him: Stop drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes and eat healthy. Most people live a healthy life with the heart as long as they take care of themselves. However, his condition is so bad that it’s considered an actual disease of the heart muscle disease. Currently, he has a pacemaker and a Hickman, which is a tube connected directly to his heart which enables the medical staff to administer drugs and blood products to the patient painlessly. My father’s condition is so bad that it is at its peak. There are no other routes. The only way he can come back to the way he once lived is by a heart transplant.
He has been on the transplant list for over year. The doctors told him he should receive a heart within six months, but it’s been a little more then a year. Doctors say that hearts are given to those, who are in really bad condition. The Hickman is the last step before the transplant meaning my dad is ready for it. According to the National Heart, lung, and blood Institute, about 2,500 Americans receive heart transplants each year. Currently, around 3 million Americans living with heart failure making it the number one killer in the United States. Heart failure causes about 39,000 deaths a year. Cancer is the second disease the kills the most in the U.S.
So, do these people like my father have a chance to live, while they wait for a donor?
Well, apparently, but it’s a risk you take because it’s not certain. What I talk to you about is an artificial heart. Technology like this has been used and abused in episodes of Star Trek.
So, does this cool stuff really work? Is it the future or is man just playing with God?
Well, apparently, because the Food and Drug Administration approved in September. The device, which is produced by Massachusetts-based Abiomed and it’s called AbioCor. Artificial hearts work by pumping deoxygenated blood from body to the lungs. The device then pumps oxygenated blood through the body.
In 2001, a break through in medicine occurred as surgeons at Jewish Hospital in Louisville, Kentucky performed the first artificial heart transplant in nearly two decades. The device is supposed to double the person’s life. However, that’s not the case for those who have volunteered to be guinea pigs. Eleven procedures have been done. All have died. The longest patient lived for six months. Abiomed officials say the device was designed to double life expectancy for patients who had only about 30 days to live.
So, who qualifies for this?
Well surely not my father! You have to be in the end-stage of failure; a life expectancy of less than 30 days; not a candidate for a natural heart transplant and not have other viable treatment option.
That doesn’t make any sense because if you have a couple of days before there is a donor, then why can’t you have the artificial heart implanted while the wait for the natural?
The artificial heart surgery lasts about seven hours. You may now purchase this device for measly $100,000 that won’t guarantee you anything, but double up what you left in your life. The surgery is about $250,000.
Oh, but wait you need to also have this qualification: The grapefruit sized device must fit inside the patient’s chest. Surgeons run various test to determine if you are a candidate.
The first artificial heart was patented by Paul Winchell in 1963. However, it was a disappointment. The hosts died within months. About 90 people received it; as a result, FDA banned the product.
Most doctors believe that this is just the beginning and once they understand the functions of the artificial heart, they’ll be able to make it more tangible.
If it was up to me, I wouldn’t be a guinea pig nor will I let my father be a test dummy. This is a device that hasn’t been properly tested. Shoot, they are even testing it on animals.
I can’t believe the FDA has approved of this machine and let some wacko of a doctor implant a machine for I can last for a couple of hours. I would rather die as a man then a coward. Sure, it will help those who wait for a natural heart, but aren’t we playing the role of God here. Could it be that God himself is not letting us play the role he plays? Remember, this is a device being tested. How far will we go and how many people will die just for trying it?
I really can’t understand the reason why the FDA approved. It’s logical that they run tests that are not public, so why didn’t they keep it that way? This sure will stir some controversy. Don’t be surprise if there are a couple of lawsuits.
An enlarge heart is not a condition, but a symptom of an underlying problem that is causing the heart to work harder than normal
He was born with the heart, but didn’t follow what doctors told him: Stop drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes and eat healthy. Most people live a healthy life with the heart as long as they take care of themselves. However, his condition is so bad that it’s considered an actual disease of the heart muscle disease. Currently, he has a pacemaker and a Hickman, which is a tube connected directly to his heart which enables the medical staff to administer drugs and blood products to the patient painlessly. My father’s condition is so bad that it is at its peak. There are no other routes. The only way he can come back to the way he once lived is by a heart transplant.
He has been on the transplant list for over year. The doctors told him he should receive a heart within six months, but it’s been a little more then a year. Doctors say that hearts are given to those, who are in really bad condition. The Hickman is the last step before the transplant meaning my dad is ready for it. According to the National Heart, lung, and blood Institute, about 2,500 Americans receive heart transplants each year. Currently, around 3 million Americans living with heart failure making it the number one killer in the United States. Heart failure causes about 39,000 deaths a year. Cancer is the second disease the kills the most in the U.S.
So, do these people like my father have a chance to live, while they wait for a donor?
Well, apparently, but it’s a risk you take because it’s not certain. What I talk to you about is an artificial heart. Technology like this has been used and abused in episodes of Star Trek.
So, does this cool stuff really work? Is it the future or is man just playing with God?
Well, apparently, because the Food and Drug Administration approved in September. The device, which is produced by Massachusetts-based Abiomed and it’s called AbioCor. Artificial hearts work by pumping deoxygenated blood from body to the lungs. The device then pumps oxygenated blood through the body.
In 2001, a break through in medicine occurred as surgeons at Jewish Hospital in Louisville, Kentucky performed the first artificial heart transplant in nearly two decades. The device is supposed to double the person’s life. However, that’s not the case for those who have volunteered to be guinea pigs. Eleven procedures have been done. All have died. The longest patient lived for six months. Abiomed officials say the device was designed to double life expectancy for patients who had only about 30 days to live.
So, who qualifies for this?
Well surely not my father! You have to be in the end-stage of failure; a life expectancy of less than 30 days; not a candidate for a natural heart transplant and not have other viable treatment option.
That doesn’t make any sense because if you have a couple of days before there is a donor, then why can’t you have the artificial heart implanted while the wait for the natural?
The artificial heart surgery lasts about seven hours. You may now purchase this device for measly $100,000 that won’t guarantee you anything, but double up what you left in your life. The surgery is about $250,000.
Oh, but wait you need to also have this qualification: The grapefruit sized device must fit inside the patient’s chest. Surgeons run various test to determine if you are a candidate.
The first artificial heart was patented by Paul Winchell in 1963. However, it was a disappointment. The hosts died within months. About 90 people received it; as a result, FDA banned the product.
Most doctors believe that this is just the beginning and once they understand the functions of the artificial heart, they’ll be able to make it more tangible.
If it was up to me, I wouldn’t be a guinea pig nor will I let my father be a test dummy. This is a device that hasn’t been properly tested. Shoot, they are even testing it on animals.
I can’t believe the FDA has approved of this machine and let some wacko of a doctor implant a machine for I can last for a couple of hours. I would rather die as a man then a coward. Sure, it will help those who wait for a natural heart, but aren’t we playing the role of God here. Could it be that God himself is not letting us play the role he plays? Remember, this is a device being tested. How far will we go and how many people will die just for trying it?
I really can’t understand the reason why the FDA approved. It’s logical that they run tests that are not public, so why didn’t they keep it that way? This sure will stir some controversy. Don’t be surprise if there are a couple of lawsuits.
posted by romanowski at 8:27 PM
0 comments
