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Updated: Oct 2, 2026

Use of Two Intracorporeal Ventricular Assist Devices As a Total Artificial Heart
Published on: May 11, 2018
Mechanical alternatives to the human heart: intracorporeal assist systems and total artificial heart
1Heart Transplantation Unit, Department of Cardiac Surgery, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel. jaylavee@netvision.net.il
Abstract:
The currently available intracorporeal assist systems and total artificial heart provide long-term support for patients terminally ill with congestive heart failure, often in an out-of-hospital environment. While they are currently widely used mainly as a long-term bridge to heart transplantation, their inherent risks of infection or stroke are prompting interest in future devices that will be smaller, fully implantable and hopefully stroke-free. These devices will be described in the last part of this review.
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