Artificial heart approved for long-term use offers hope to end-stage heart failure patients

摘要

A new option for patients with end-stage heart failure struggling on conventional therapy has been recently granted premarket approval by the FDA. HeartMate II left ventricular assist system is now available for use as destination therapy and comes from circulatory device manufacturer, Thoratec Corporation. The HeartMate II was originally approved as a temporary measure for those awaiting transplantation ('bridge-to-transplantation') in 2008, but this recent approval provides a fresh wave of hope for those not eligible for transplant. The target patient group for this device is those with New York Heart Association (NYHA) Class IIIB or IV end-stage left ventricular failure who have received optimal medical therapy for at least 45 of the last 60 days, and who are not candidates for cardiac transplantation.