The Artificial Heart

First Designs of Artificial Heart are Made

Mar 1, 1935

Medical Discoveries
In 1935, a French surgeon named Alexis Carrel and an American pilot called Charles Lindbergh designed a pump made to keep your heart running and pumping.

First Artificial Heart is Created and Tested

Mar 1, 1957

Medical Discoveries
The first completely artificial heart was implanted in a dog at the Cleveland Clinic. Willem Kolff and T. Akutsu performed the surgery.

A New Heart Called "Pneumatically-Driven" Because of it's Air Component

Mar 1, 1966

Medical Discoveries
Michael DeBakey designed and put in a new heart that was worked by air pressure with a component called a Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD) in 1966.

Another Implant Accomplished

Apr 4, 1969

WikipediaDomingo Liotta and Denton A. Cooley replaced a dying man's heart with a mechanical heart inside the chest at The Texas Heart Institute in Houston as a bridge for a transplant. The patient woke up and recovered well. After 64 hours, the pneumatic-powered artificial heart was removed and replaced by a donor heart. However thirty-two hours after surgery, the patient died of what was later proved to be an infection, extended to both lungs, caused by fungi.

The Jarvik-7

Mar 5, 1982

Medical Discoveries
The Jarvik-7 was designed for full use as a complete replacment for a heart. The device was a pump made of plastic and titanium powered by compressed air.

New Artificial Hearts on the Way

Mar 5, 1990

Medical Discoveries
Current research focuses on a new generation of electrically-powered artificial hearts. These devices use portable battery packs to transmit power with radio signals.

Success in China

Jan 1, 2001

34-year-old Ding Xiaolan has been implanted with an artificial heart, giving him another chance to live.

More Progress made in China

Sep 9, 2001

34-year-old Ding Xiaolan has survived eight months after being implanted with an artificial heart, the longest lifespan of patients in Asia.

The First FDA Approved Heart

Oct 15, 2004

Wikpedia
The SynCardia temporary Total Artificial Heart manufactured by SynCardia Systems, Inc. was the first FDA-approved total artificial heart. It received FDA approval and was ready to begin being used.