Building a bioartificial heart: Obstacles and opportunities

The growing numbers of patients with heart failure, both in the United States and around the globe, has led to a pressing need for new therapies. Heart transplantation is a very restricted option due to the limited number of donor hearts available —currently approximately 2800 per year in the United States. Transplant patients also have to take immunosuppressive drugs for the rest of their lives. Ventricular assist devices, used either as bridge to transplant or destination therapy, can prolong patient survival, but present a number of comp lications, including thrombosis, stroke, and infection.
Source: The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery - Category: Cardiovascular & Thoracic Surgery Authors: Tags: Feature Expert opinion Source Type: research