The Artificial Heart.
There is something inside every human that goes unnoticed most every day, something that is the basis of survival itself. What is this? It is the human heart. Next to the brain, it is one of the most necessary internal organs. While most don't remember or understand the amazing capabilities of hearts, some must for the reason that their hearts are incapable of the work they need to do. The necessary work is pumping blood through the body's system of veins, ventricles, arteries, capillaries and more. This is why the question remains, what are the other options? Transplants are hard to come by, and very hard for the patient to endure. We will cover the basics of artificial hearts, creators of them, processes, benefits, why this is an important invention, how to keep a healthy heart, and much more.
Many people have claimed to have invented the artificial heart, but the first patent was by a man named Paul Winchell. Paul graduated from Columbia University in 1959, then became an acupuncture doctor at the Acupuncture research college. While he was a great inventor, his patents were never created tangibly or implanted. His design included complex and unrealistic designs, such as flexible plastic bags compressed by rollers to pump blood carried by tubes, and mounted plates that pivot to assist. His first patent was filed on February 6th, 1961. It was issued 2 and a half years later.
While Paul Winchell had the capability to create the artificial heart, because he was an intelligent man and had worked in the medical field as well. His patents were never created, because they were so impractical. The systems he designed could possibly work for a standing external artificial heart, but would not be practical or logical for a long term implant. Dr. Robert Jarvik created the first permanent artificial heart implant, and his was in no similarity to Mr. Winchell's, despite many rumors.
Robert Jarvik is the actual creator of the first permanent artificial heart. He was born on May 11, 1946 in Midland, Michigan. He went to Syracuse University in 1964 and took a mechanical drawing class, as well as an architecture class. Unfortunately, his dad developed heart disease around the beginning of Jarvik's architecture course. This inspired Jarvik to switch from architecture to medical studies, as well as zoology. Jarvik failed to get into American medical schools, due to his poor GPA. Instead, he attended medical school in Italy (University of Bologna). Two years later, he returned to the United States and got a masters degree in occupational biomechanics at NYU in 1971.
Jarvik was hired to work on artificial hearts in 1971. He helped improve the Kwan-Gett heart, which was the precursor of the Jarvik-7. The Kwan-Gett heart model sustained an animal for a world record of 10.8 days, and there were two main problems with the heart. Jarvik was assigned the task of developing a new heart model to fix these problems. These were obstructions to the venous return, and poor reliability when fabricated from a blood-compatible polyurethane material.
Jarvik successfully made the design and overcame the problems. For the first problem, he took a closer look at a human heart and made his heart look more like a traditional human heart. For the second problem, he invented a new diaphragm composed of a triple layered blood compatible polyurethane material which lasted longer than a single-layer diaphragm and was more durable. The first patient ever to receive this heart was Dr. Barney Clark. Barney lived for 112 days with this heart.
Before there was the Jarvik-7, many people tried patenting an artificial heart. The earliest in date for a filed patent was April 10, 1956 by a company called Fry. Then there was another one by the company Norton's patent in 1959. In later years, Paul Winchell claimed to have invented the artificial heart and tried getting a patent for it and failed. The Kwan-Gett heart was proved obsolete by the Jarvik-7, due to Jarvik's extensive care and determination.
All of the previous patent designs failed because they were either too "out-there", or were incompatible with traditional body functions. With the Kwan-Gett, the J-7 solved the original defects, but it still was obsolete to their original hopes and aspirations for the artificial heart. They are working on a new heart design called the Jarvik-2000. The J-7 was originally designed to last a lifetime, so the patient didn't have to wait for a real heart transplant, but it only lasted for about a year. So they went to work again, and they are trying to make the J-2k a guaranteed lifelong device.
The J-7 and J-2k are similar to the real heart by look, design, functions, and cost. They both cost around 200,000 dollars to transplant and for the J-7, strokes are common. The survival rate for the first year this was established, (1986) was about 80% which is considerably high. The next five years brought considerably low percentages (45%). Recent percentages are extremely high, (97.2%) but they still die after a certain amount of time. Also, the survival rate of men seems to be higher than that of a women. Why that is, we have not figured out yet, but scientists are still on their way to cracking this mystery.
Keeping the health of your original heart is truly one of the most important things to do as a human being. A good diet, exercise , and overall health can prevent transplants being needed. Eating a balanced diet of about 6 small and healthful meals throughout the day with little to no amounts of trans fats, saturated fats, and pesticide treated foods has been shown to reduce the risks of heart disease and obesity. Exercising frequently helps prevent obesity, which puts the body in much lower risk of contracting diabetes types 1 and 2, fatty heart disease, swelling of the heart, needs for atrium and ventricle bypass, venous obstruction, clots, clogged arteries, sleep apnea, and much more. The heart is like a clock for the human body. Any obstructions, and it will just stop ticking.
The human heart is something that should never go unappreciated or unnoticed. Knowing about options as far as artificial hearts go will widen options for the future. This is our future, and the technology is only getting more complex and more helpful. Who knows? One day everyone might be the recipient of one of these magical and amazing devices.
The End.
This is my photo word for enamored. I raised three 4-3 day old kittens, that my dad found abandoned under a macadamia nut tree. They are truly lucky kittens, and animal abuse is something I could never begin to understand. Unfortunately, the only boy kitten passed away and I was devastated. I watched him struggle in his last moments, and it was truly one of the most crushing moments I've ever experienced. I haven't ever felt so much joy for animals, and these kittens cause me so much joy. I absolutely adore them. I am enamored with them, and they are beautiful creatures.
This is my word for senescent. Senescent means decaying, aging, old. It is inevitable that if this weren't a fake picture where we were acting, the body would become senescent and age, decay.
This is my photo for tranquility. I'm laying down on sand, with no other surroundings of noise or tumult. Peaceful and calm.
This is my photoword for amorous. This is a picture of myself and my boyfriend Travis, and we have a lot of fun together. We are both very affectionate and care about each other very much. Thus, I figured this photo works perfectly.
