At Niguarda Hospital in Milan, an artificial heart was implanted in a patient who had been waiting several months for a heart transplant. This is the first time such an operation has taken place in Italy. It is an artificial organ equipped with biological valves, which totally replaces the heart with functions very close to the physiological ones. The state-of-the-art artificial heart was used to treat a patient suffering from severe heart failure with left and right ventricle dysfunction.

The next-generation artificial heart totally replaces the native heart, which is removed by cardiac surgery under extracorporeal circulation. The new device consists of a left ventricular chamber and a right ventricular chamber. This configuration differentiates it from the assistance systems normally used, the so-called Vad (Ventricular Assist Device), with an almost exclusive left ventricular support function.

Instead, the artificial heart with its four biological valves (which correspond to the tricuspid, pulmonary, mitral, and aorta valves of the native heart) is able to generate physiological flow of the pulsatile type (i.e., with a systolic and diastolic pressure as in the normal subject). The advantages of this new device also include the internal surfaces being totally coated with biological membranes, requiring low levels of anticoagulation therapy with a reduced risk of related complications.

Consider that the average wait on the ordinary list for heart transplantation in Italy is about three years, and a technology that closely mimics heart physiology can help bring patients in the best possible condition to face transplantation. The hope is that in the near future, the use of the artificial heart may be perfected and become a definitive alternative solution to heart transplantation, particularly for those categories of patients with biventricular heart dysfunction and with contraindications (due to age or associated diseases) to heart transplantation.