Artificial-Heart Patient Dies Soon After Surgery
From Times Wire Reports
The seventh patient to receive Abiomed Inc.’s self-contained artificial heart died shortly after surgery to implant the heart, the Danvers, Mass., company said.
The operation, which is done only on patients so sick that they are expected to die within 30 days, was performed Wednesday at Jewish Hospital in Louisville, Ky.
The name of the seventh patient wasn’t given, but physicians said the patient had a history of heart problems, was on multiple medications to maintain a stable blood pressure and was on a ventilator before surgery.
