Steelworker Critical After Implant of Artificial Heart

A steelworker was reported in critical condition Saturday after receiving an artificial heart as a stopgap measure until a human heart is available for transplant.

Ronald Smith, 38, of Gary, Ind., received the Jarvik-7 heart in an eight-hour operation Friday at St. Luke’s Hospital. Dr. Alfred J. Tector, who helped implant the heart, said Smith was “doing as well as we could hope. The patient is stable.”