In the News
Explore how Thoratec is creating a more hopeful future for advanced heart failure patients.
Tee picture of health a year later
October 15, 2008
New Straits Times - Clad in a blue skirt and a white top and jacket paired with a pair of white high-heeled shoes, a blue chain and a white slingbag, the teenager was every bit a fashionista as she flashed a confident smile at those present at a news conference organised by the National Heart Institute.
Saved - by an artificial heart the size of a thumb that plugged into the mains
October 13, 2008
Daily Mail, UK - Around 20,000 Britons suffer from dilated cardiomyopathy, which weakens their heart muscles, putting them at serious risk of heart failure. James Jackson, 22, a labourer from Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, had an artificial heart implanted to keep him alive while his own heart recovered, as he tells Thea Jourdan.
For Bellingham dentist, a harrowing and miraculous journey to his new heart
September 22, 2008
Bellingham Herald - If not for the persistence of the woman who loved him, Jeff L. Frere's life may have ended suddenly and mysteriously at the young age of 46, at least until an autopsy showed the damage to his heart and arteries.
Benefit to assist heart patient
September 10, 2008
RTT News - For patients suffering from advanced-stage heart failure and awaiting heart transplantation, the approval of Thoratec's HeartMate II by the FDA on April 21, represents a new hope, as drug therapies have not proven to be an effective solution. The device was approved in Europe as early as November 2005.
Benefit to assist heart patient
September 4, 2008
The Post-Standard - Ken Whitney has had so many heart attacks that even a close family friend isn't sure whether it's been six or seven. He's also had at least four surgeries related to his heart, including two triple bypasses.
FDA Approval Of Heart Pump May Give New Hope To Patients
August 26, 2008
Investor's Business Daily: New America - Heart transplants offer hope to more than 2,000 advanced heart failure patients each year. But roughly 250,000 people die from the chronic heart disease.
Heart device pumping new life in patients, firm's bottomline
August 20, 2008
Contra Costa Times - The heart of Chula Vista resident Debra Kinney was down to its last beats.
Take Heart From HeartMate 2
August 16, 2008
Business Week - There's a new device on the market that will help bridge the gap for those suffering from heart disease and on the lengthy list for a heart transplant.
Patient Who Needed Heart And Kidney Transplant Borrowed Time With Heart Assist Device
August 6, 2008
Medical News Today - Seven years after Joaquin Lucio's kidneys shut down, he had a heart attack and was taken to a Los Angeles area hospital where doctors performed an angioplasty to clear his coronary arteries. He also was suffering from idiopathic congestive heart failure - a condition in which the heart becomes weak and enlarged - and a special pacemaker was implanted to provide support.
Quest: Repairing more hearts with implanted pumps
July 21, 2008
KFMB-TV Channel 8 San Diego - When it comes to hearts, Taneal Wilson won the lottery. A small pump implanted to keep the 31-year-old alive long enough for a heart transplant somehow helped Wilson's ravaged heart completely recover instead.
Another UMC First For Mechanical Heart Devices
July 18, 2008
KOLD-TV, CBS - A Tucson man has become the first University Medical Center patient to get a relatively new mechanical heart assist device.
New Life Saving Heart Device
July 17, 2008
KATV - Little Rock, AR - The numbers are staggering. An estimated 5-million Americans are affected by congestive heart failure, with nearly 500,000 cases diagnosed each year. But an innovative device is pumping new life into heart patients. And a local hospital has been given the green light to offer this revolutionary procedure.
Health Watch: Heart Transplant Pump
July 15, 2008
WAGA-TV CH 5 (FOX) Atlanta - Adam Cooper was a healthy college senior until this Spring, when he caught a flu-like virus he just couldn't shake. Now, more than two months after he was hospitalized at St. Joseph's hospital, Adam is finally hoping to go home.
Hopkins: Week 3
July 10, 2008
ABC.com - Earl Ingemann is a live wire. A 19-year-old Bermudan, he is constantly eluding doctors and nurses who want him to stay put and behave like other patients on the heart transplant list. But Earl would rather prowl the hospital, go out for junk food, play video games and get his hair braided. However, he needs something more than a routine heart transplant and doctors are worried.
The CD&D Interview: Gary Burbach
July 8, 2008
Cardiovascular Device & Drugs - Gary Burbach focused on QUALITY of LIFE for HEART FAILURE PATIENTS
Heartmate II leads the way in options for smaller bodies
July 8, 2008
Cardiovascular Device & Drugs - Last month's approval of the advanced generation ventricular assist device (VAD) from Thoratec (Pleasanton, California) ? the HeartMate II Left Ventricular Assist System (LVAS) ? is leading the way in heart pump devices that are smaller, and touted as more efficient, and thus more available for implantation in smaller bodies: women, smaller men and younger people.
Heart pump effectiveness
July 8, 2008
WCBD – TV, South Carolina - In the coming years, thousands of people with fatal diseases of the heart will continue to enjoy birthdays, weddings, and the company of grandchildren.
Device helps keep heart pumping
July 1, 2008
KWTV-TV CH 9 (CBS) Oklahoma City - State-of-the-art technology for heart disease patients is now available in our state.
Heart Pump Gives Patients Needed Time
June 30, 2008
Fox 43 News KTMJ-TV CH 43 (FOX) Topeka - A St. Joseph man needs a heart transplant, but he's not eligible for one yet because he just quit smoking a few months ago.
Device Firm Has Hunger For Change
June 27, 2008
Investor's Business Daily - Thoratec has no qualms about cannibalizing the market for its first-generation heart pump.
Could heart transplants become a thing of the past?
June 9, 2008
University of Michigan Health Systems Newsletter - Heart transplants save the lives of more than 2,100 Americans every year. But many more patients are still waiting for a new heart to become available, and hundreds will die without ever getting a second chance at life.
New Technology Provides Hope For Those Suffering Heart Failure
June 9, 2008
KUTV (CBS) – Salt Lake City - Years ago, it was often a death sentence, but in our Healthy Living report, new technology has providing new hope for patients suffering from heart failure.
HeartMate II Helping Patients With Failing Hearts
June 5, 2008
KTHV-TV CH 11 (CBS) Little Rock/Pine Bluff - "We've read that it can happen from a cold from pneumonia from arthritis, from regular infections that you would have and not think anything about it." Chuck Simons thought he was just getting another head cold when he went to his doctor in hot springs. That doctor visit ended like a bad dream. "So he came back in and said "Chuck, it's not a head cold," he said, "This is one of the worst EKG's I've ever seen." "He sent me over to a cardiologist in Hot Springs and they said you get to get checked into the hospital, do not pass go."
Patient takes heart with new implant
May 29, 2008
The Province (Vancouver) - When Al Smith was diagnosed with a rare and fatal heart condition, there was a chance the Victoria man would not live long enough to receive a transplant.
St. Paul's Hospital Performs Unprecedented Number of Mechanical Heart Implants
May 26, 2008
Market Wire - Physicians, patients and representatives from the Province and Provincial Health Services Authority will gather to recognize the B.C. Acute Heart Failure Program's unprecedented number of ventricular assist devices (or mechanical hearts) implanted this year - more than any other program of its kind in Canada.
Heart Device Could Have More Uses
May 15, 2008
KEYC TV - News 12 - Right now there are close to 5-million people in America suffering from heart failure. Many of these people would benefit from a heart transplant, but because most of them are over age 65, they're often not eligible for that life-saving operation. Now, doctors at Mayo Clinic are studying a device that could be the answer.
The Heartsaver
May 15, 2008
WTOL 11 - It's the number one killer in America, but a brand-new, revolutionary device has the potential to save thousands battling heart disease.
Thoratec's tiny heart pump could offer the sickest cardiac patients an alternative to a transplant
May 5, 2008
Forbes - David Pierce used to get short of breath every time he climbed the half-flight of stairs in his suburban Detroit home. Four years ago the machinist's congestive heart disease, which had forced him to retire early from his job at General Motors (nyse: GM - news - people ), had advanced to end-stage
Device Heals The Heart Of North Texas Woman
Apr 24, 2008
CBS 11 - A North Texas woman is alive, thanks to a mechanical device that repaired her diseased heart.
Heart assist device gives Duncanville resident chance at life
Apr 16, 2008
Duncanville Today - In the midst of any serious medical condition, it is difficult to be hopeful. Yet for Lois Coker of Duncanville and her family, one significant surgery brought a ray of hope to her diagnosis.
Saved by the Beat of Her Heart
Apr 4, 2008
Good Morning America - As a 17-year-old, Salina Gonzales successfully fought Hodgkin's lymphoma with chemotherapy, and at the time doctors said she'd go on to live a normal life.
How Could a Heart Pump Be as Effective as a Transplant?
Mar 26, 2008
ABC World News with Charles Gibson - A new experimental device to help a failing heart is awaiting FDA approval, but it has already helped save the life of one woman who agreed to test it.
The Spinning Heart
Mar 1, 2008
Best Life - Greg Jones is slouched in an office chair on the ground floor of his two-story house four miles west of downtown Chicago, a Windows error frozen on the computer screen behind him. I reach for his wrist—no pulse. I feel again, shifting my fingers to cover the radial artery—still nothing. That’s when I look at his face and he gives me a big smile.
Woman Lives With Heart Pump After Major Heart Attack
Feb 12, 2008
NBC 4 - For many people, a failing heart often means a transplant.
Revolutionary Heart Device Closes Gender Gap
Jan 25, 2008
ABC World News with Charles Gibson - From the outside, Salina Gonzales looks pretty much like any other shopper—but it's what's going on inside her body that is so remarkable.
Show of heart
Jan 17, 2008
Sound Off - The system controller, an electronic device strapped around Jose Vargas' waist, suddenly buzzed while a row of tiny lights flashed.
The Mysterious Human Heart
Oct 17, 2007
PBS - Endlessly Beating examines the heart as a muscle - pumping almost 100,000 times a day, pushing approximately five quarts of blood in an endless course to deliver oxygen to every cell of the human body. This hour tells the story of the normal heart through the histories of three people with end-stage heart failure, where a pump may be a temporary remedy, but in the long term, a transplant is almost always necessary.
Barnes-Jewish's Artificial Heart Program celebrates 10 years
Oct 2, 2007
South County Journal - Oct. 1, 1997 marked a significant date in the history of Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine. For the first time in their long history, a patient suffering from end-stage heart failure had a portable ventricular assist device (VAD) implanted to help his failing heart beat.
Lighter, improved heart pump
Sep 25, 2007
The Washington Times - The strap and battery pack worn over Roger-Guy M. Folly's shoulder gives new meaning to wearing your heart on your sleeve.
Pump buys time in wait for a heart
Sep 22, 2007
Sacramento Bee - For Steven "Stretch" Andersen, the signs of heart failure were hard to ignore: Winded after climbing a few bleacher steps at the NASCAR race in Las Vegas, unable to finish even half a New York steak, his normally ruddy complexion turning a dull gray.
Savannah Woman First in Georgia to Receive HeartMate II Device at Emory
Jun 27, 2007
Dental and Health Articles - Surgeons at Emory University Hospital recently implanted Georgia's first HeartMate II ventricular assist device (VAD) as a form of destination therapy (in place of a donor transplant) for individuals who are not eligible for, or unwilling to undergo, a heart transplant.
Heart-pump pioneers at LDS
Jun 5, 2007
Deseret Morning News - Stanley Roberts was once cardiologist Dr. William Mackie's physician's assistant. Years later, when Roberts' heart was failing, his doctor-friend said he held Roberts together with "baling wire and duct tape."
Heart-Assist Device Gives Culver City Man A Good Quality Of Life
May 28, 2007
Medical News Today - Mark Heiner of Culver City reads books, paints artistically, takes walks and does laundry activities that would be considered routine except for the fact that a four-pound disk implanted in his abdominal cavity is keeping his blood flowing.
Temporary pumps let ailing hearts heal in young patients
Apr 9, 2007
11 News KHOU-TV - See URL video below
New Device May Heal Damaged Hearts
Apr 9, 2007
CBS News - Left Ventricular Assist Devices, Or LVADs, Could Put Patients On The Road To Recovery
1,000 Days on Heart Pump
Apr 5, 2007
XETV FOX 6 - San Diego - 
Fairland Man Benefits From Heart Device
Mar 21, 2007
Barnes-Jewish Hospital - FAIRLAND, Okla. - John Brock's heart failed while looking into the mouth of an open grave.
Breakthrough heart surgery patient recuperating
Mar 17, 2007
SABC News - Nokkie Gerrits is the first man in Africa to receive the Heartmate. The left ventrical assist device is an electrical machine that performs the pumping function of the heart while the patient receives treatment. If the heart recovers enough to start pumping again, the device can be removed.
Single mom to 2 goes through chemo with heart pump
Feb 26, 2007
KHOU Channel 11 - She was seven months pregnant and diagnosed with stage IV Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
Berkeley Heights womans heart receives boost with new implant
Feb 14, 2007
Summit Independent Press - Delores Treich, 72, of Berkeley Heights was critically-ill when she was transferred from a referring hospital to Newark Beth Israel Medical Center in December. Her heart was functioning at only 5% capacity before she underwent surgery to have the HeartMate II Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD) implanted. This lifesaving procedure was performed by Margarita T. Camacho, MD, surgical director of Cardiac Transplantation and Assist Devices at the Saint Barnabas Heart Center at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center.
Ailing County Official Glad To Be Alive, Glad To Be a Gator Fan
Jan 10, 2007
St. Petersburg Times - He had cancer surgery and got a heart device, and through it all, he didn't miss a game.
Medicare Policy Could Boost Thoratec
Jan 3, 2007
Associated Press - A late December Medicare proposal to increase the number of hospitals authorized to implant a specialized mechanical heart device made by Thoratec could significantly expand the market for the company's products, an analyst said Wednesday.