The demand for heart transplants cannot keep pace with demand Heart disease threatens the lives of millions, but with only limited hearts available for transplant, medical science has long yearned for a definitive fix to repair or replace this most vital organ.
Troy Golden, a pastor from Oklahoma, was born with a heart that would one day break. A genetic condition known as Marfan's syndrome has been slowly attacking his body tissue since birth including around his heart and valves.
At the age of 41, he had to undergo life-saving surgery, replacing valves and reshaping his heart's walls. But his condition continued to worsen. In January 2010, he was put on the heart transplant list, but time ran out without a donor.
The noise of the pump running inside Troy's rucksack means his wife knows all is well "Troy's heart was so bad that a traditional heart pump wouldn't be enough," explains Troy's cardiologist Dr Doug Horstmanshof. "So, we decided to try something different - completely replacing the heart."
In September last year, Troy became one of the few people in the US to have his entire heart replaced with a device called the Total Artificial Heart. It's made of plastic and weighs 160 grams and is a little larger than a biological heart. It is powered by a pneumatic pump that you carry around in a rucksack.
Dr James Long, Troy's surgeon, recalled the moment the heart was implanted into Troy. "It was admittedly rather awe-inspiring," he says. And it was ominous to look inside the chest and know that the only thing keeping him alive was the synthetic pump that we had just replaced his heart with."
Troy has had to get used to the non-stop sound of the pneumatic pump. But he looks and feels remarkably well and is overwhelmed by what has been done for him.
"It's awesome," he said "to be out of the hospital and to be able to come back home and to be able to come back to some normal life."
"You can't even just really comprehend taking your heart out, you know, without a heart you're not alive."
The Total Artificial Heart has done more than buy Troy some time. It has given him his life back and it has given him hope. But this is not a permanent solution. His heart's batteries must be constantly charged, spares must stand at the ready. The risk of infection and clotting add to the constant worry.
For now Troy must again endure the long wait for a donor heart, but there are other solutions on the horizon. New avenues of research are focussing on efforts to assist, rather than replace the heart.
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