Developments in Brief : Jarvik-7 Often Flawless as a Temporary Heart

The Jarvik-7 artificial heart, which leads to complications when used as a permanent replacement, can work flawlessly if implanted temporarily in people awaiting transplants, according to a new report.

The artificial heart “provided a bridge from almost certain death to satisfactory cardiac transplantation” in six of nine heart patients at the Presbyterian-University Hospital from Oct. 24, 1985, through July 31, 1986, according to the University of Pittsburgh researchers.

None of the patients suffered a stroke--a major complication with prolonged use of the device. The researchers attributed the lack of blood clots to good luck, aggressive use of anti-clotting drugs and the short period of use.

Their report appears in last week’s New England Journal of Medicine.

Not enough human hearts are available for transplants. Some experts believe that a major use of mechanical hearts will be keeping terminally ill patients alive until a natural heart is obtained. The Jarvik-7 is one of several pumps being used this way at hospitals across the country.

Its use as a permanent replacement--in five people--has been far more controversial. Those patients suffered multiple complications, including strokes and infections, and all of them died.

As of Nov. 21, 1986, 33 patients worldwide have been kept alive with the Jarvik-7 while awaiting transplantation, the researchers said. Twenty-four have survived on the device long enough to receive new hearts and 19 are still alive, they said.