The Risks & Benefits of an Artificial Heart

People with end-stage cardiac disease require a heart transplant to survive. There is a long waiting list for hearts from donors, and as few as 1 in 4 patients who need a transplant survive long enough to get it. One option that may increase a patient's chances of survival until a heart becomes available is the installation of an artificial heart. An artificial heart is not intended to be a permanent solution, but only a bridge solution to buy time for a patient.

Benefits

• According to "Health News" at WebMD, less than half of patients requiring a heart transplant will survive until they get one. This number increases to 79 percent for those patients who receive a total artificial heart to replace their own failing organs. Not without significant risks, the human body is apparently able to tolerate an artificial heart for a longer period of time than it is able to survive with heart drug therapy in end-stage cardiac disease. The artificial heart temporarily provides all the benefits of a healthy heart, specifically the efficient delivery of oxygen and nutrients to the tissues and organs of the body via the cardiovascular system.

Risks During Surgery

• The installation of an artificial heart involves an invasive surgery, and patients must face significant risks associated with it. There is a risk that the patient will react badly to the medicine used to put her to sleep. One such potential reaction is a condition known as malignant hyperthermia, in which all of the body's skeletal muscles contract simultaneously and continuously, generating an enormous amount of heat that can be fatal if swift action is not taken by the anesthesiologist. Surgeon error and the generally weakened state of the patients in end-stage cardiac disease can result in the patient dying during surgery, though most patients survive the installation of an artificial heart.

Risks After Surgery

• After the heart is installed, the patient faces considerable risks while living with the device. Internal blood clots and bleeding can often result from the surgery. Doctors take great care to balance the risk of bleeding by prescribing anti-clotting medications, so orders regarding how to take the medications should be followed very carefully.

  The risk of infection is very high with the type of artificial heart that requires an external power source. This power source requires that a cord runs into the body through holes in the patient's abdomen. The patient will need to be on antibiotics and be carefully monitored for infections during this time. Also, as with any surgery, the risk of infection at the surgical site is also present.

  Artificial heart devices may occasionally fail. The main types of malfunctions that may occur are inefficiencies in the pumping action, failures in the power supply, or the total failures of individual parts. Depending on the effect of the malfunction, patients may live in a chronically weakened state or require emergency artificial heart replacement surgery.