Press releases

Released September 3, 2003
Yale-New Haven Hospital news release

Yale-New Haven Hospital among the first U.S. hospitals to successfully implant the Jarvik2000 ventricular assist device

For more information, call 203-688-2493 or E-mail Mark D'Antonio

Yale-New Haven Hospital has joined an elite group of hospitals in the United States, and is the first hospital in New England, that has successfully transplanted the Jarvik2000 ventricular assist device, a device designed to assist the failing heart while the recipient awaits permanent cardiac replacement via transplantation.

The patient, David Warner, 48, of Poughkeepsie, N.Y., underwent a successful 7 1/2 hour surgical procedure on August 15 to correct a failing left ventricle while demonstrating signs of Class 3 and 4 heart failure, the most severe levels of heart failure.

Dr. John Elefteriades, chief of cardiothoracic surgery at Yale-New Haven Hospital, headed the surgical team that implanted the Jarvik2000 heart assist device. He was assisted by Dr. Michael Coady and Dr. Stuart Katz.

"The utilization of the Jarvik2000 ventricular assist device further establishes Yale-New Haven Hospital's legacy of cardiac firsts," said Kyle Kramer, executive director of the Yale-New Haven Heart Center. "This device is specifically unique because it is smaller and more compact than the previously used ventricular assist devices. We are confident that this technology will give us the ability to treat more patients with mechanical assistance while they await formal cardiac transplant."

The Jarvik2000 is the smallest and simplest left ventricular assist device (LVAD) available--so small, that it fits directly inside the heart's left chamber. In contrast to other heart pumps, the Jarvik's size would enable it to be used in small adults and children. It was designed to function reliably for as long as a decade and to reduce the risk of blood clotting and infection.

The Jarvik2000 pump is designed to compliment the heart's own function, not entirely replace it. Inside the pump is a blade that spins on an axis between 8,000 and 12,000 RPM, drawing oxygenated blood from the lungs into the heart's left ventricle. The blood is then pushed through a Dacron graft to the descending thoracic aorta. The patient can boost the speed of the pump to increase blood flow during exercise or slow it down at rest by adjusting a small controller box. The battery pack, which powers the device, is connected to the pump by a wire that comes out of the abdomen, and is worn around the waist on a belt or carried in a small shoulder bag.

The recipient of the Jarvik2000, David Warner, is self-employed and runs his own executive recruiting business. He and his wife Linda have four children.

Yale-New Haven Hospital is a 944-bed, not-for-profit hospital serving as the primary teaching hospital for the Yale School of Medicine. Yale-New Haven was founded as the fourth voluntary hospital in the U.S. in 1826 and today, the hospital complex includes Yale-New Haven Children's Hospital and Yale-New Haven Psychiatric Hospital, with a combined medical staff of about 2,400 university and community physicians practicing in more than 100 specialties.

Reporters: For more information, call 203-688-2493 or E-mail Mark D'Antonio.

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