Bridge to Life — Cardiac Mechanical Support

Even with well-managed care, many patients with severe heart failure reach a stage at which medical therapy is insufficient to sustain an acceptable level of cardiac function. It is estimated that 0.2% of persons over 45 years of age in the United States, or nearly 200,000 people, may fit this description.1 Since only approximately 2000 donor hearts are available in the United States each year for transplantation, the need for another approach to cardiac replacement is well established.Investigators and the medical-device industry have been pursuing the development of mechanical cardiac support for more than four decades. The earliest forms . . .