Barney Clark
First heart transplant
Died when: 62 years 61 days (746 months)Star Sign: Aquarius
An artificial heart was a device that replaces the heart.Artificial hearts are typically used to bridge the time to heart transplantation, or to permanently replace the heart in the case that a heart transplant (from a deceased human or, experimentally, from a deceased genetically engineered pig) is impossible.
Although other similar inventions preceded it from the late 1940s, the first artificial heart to be successfully implanted in a human was the Jarvik-7 in 1982, designed by a team including Willem Johan Kolff, William DeVries and Robert Jarvik.
An artificial heart is distinct from a ventricular assist device (VAD; for either one or both of the ventricles, the heart's lower chambers), which can be a permanent solution also, or the intra-aortic balloon pump – both devices are designed to support a failing heart.
It is also distinct from a cardiopulmonary bypass machine, which is an external device used to provide the functions of both the heart and lungs, used only for a few hours at a time, most commonly during cardiac surgery.
It is also distinct from a ventilator, used to support failing lungs, or the extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), which is used to support those with both inadequate heart and lung function for up to days or weeks, unlike the bypass machine.