Alfred Intensive Care Unit

Artificial Hearts

Our Intensive Care Unit has pioneered the ICU management of patients needing mechanical heart support in Australia and since 1999 we have successfully managed 236 patients with a long term survival rate approaching 70% which is significantly above the international average survival rate.

During this time the technology of mechanical heart support has changed out of all recognition.

The initial devices built on the model of the natural heart , were large and noisy and for technical reasons located outside the body and connected to the heart by tubes passing through the skin in the upper abdomen. This necessarily meant that the first 178 of our patients were largely confined to bed attached to a large control console.

In 2003 we commenced the ICU management of the next generation of mechanical hearts and we have now managed 58 of these. In these hearts designers have abandoned the natural heart model in favour of rotary blood pumps which are much smaller, silent , can be located inside the body and are designed to last indefinitely. These have revolutionised the lives of our patients who now can live a normal life at home, able to travel in commercial planes and with a much greater life expectancy

Patients requiring mechanical heart assistance fall into two groups called 'bridge' and 'destination' patients . The first includes those people who are suitable for transplantation but would probably die before a donor heart becomes available if the mechanical heart was not used. The second and smaller group includes those patients who for age or other reason are not suitable for heart transplantation. Patients in this group can live with their mechanical heart for some years. Our longest surviving patient is still very well at 6 years.

Ventricular Assist Devices

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