Support Group for People suffering from Heart Diseases Worldwide

US teen lives 118 days without heart

An American teen-ager survived for nearly four months without a heart, kept alive by a custom-built artificial blood-pumping device, until she was able to have a heart transplant, doctors in Miami said on Wednesday.

The doctors said they knew of another case in which an adult had been kept alive in Germany for nine months without a heart but said they believed this was the first time a child had survived in this manner for so long.

More at Reuters

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Permalink Reply by mary on January 19, 2010 at 9:42am: Im very happy for the child being saved by this pump is it the javik 2000? I heard you can live up to 7 years with it. I hope they can get this pump to last even 15 to 20 years in a person so they can wait for there heart transplant. Im so happy to hear that we are now on the break through for all this new technology happening in my generation, I prayed for this to happen for so long because I always had heart problems since i was a young girl and now its getting worse in the past two years im only 42 years old. Its comforting to know you can be saved by a pump or artificial heart or a donor heart just to know that people have a chance these days is very nice....This way people have a chance to live longer and of course the quality of life is important like being able to still go shopping and go to a movie or go dancing or swimming can you swim with this pump? will it be water proof? if not that ok. but to still be able to live your life without feeling sick is great, is that possible? I hope the u.s. will allow this pump in every hospital and teach every doctor about this new pump the more the hospitals are doing this the more people will be saved by it....I know people that had a transplant of the heart and lived on the pump for 4 months until they could get a donar heart, he made it and is still alive because of it and feels great he says he gets out and excerises and he said hes very lucky! I hope we all could be this lucky! please inform the hospitals of this and let everyone get a fair fighting chance with this new device, Pump! a friend of ours just was on the pump temporarily for a heart operation he had they put him on for a few days to he felt better if thats the same pump I m not sure! but every hospital should have this pump and, should also have the javik 2000 insurances should cover this for people who need to live there shouldnt be a question of money or insurance forms people should automatically get it no matter what and be billed later and im sure most people would be so grateful for life that they would find a way later to pay or find a grant or donation to pay! but we definately need more pills to be made for heart trouble and surgerys and research on stem cells and genetics to rebuild a new heart it sounds years away but it might be sooner if people fight for this type of research it will save a lot of lives in the future or sooner. We have to have an open mind for new research, we never thought that anyone could walk on the moon but they did and now we have to remember that and so much more could be done for the people....; ▶ Reply to This