Vienna Ventricular Assist Device Leader Begins Certification Training for CardioWest temporary Total Artificial Heart

TUCSON, Ariz. (Business Wire EON) April 16, 2008 -- Dr. Wieselthaler, a leader in the use of mechanical circulatory support devices, was the first surgeon to implant both the MicroMed DeBakey Left Ventricular Assist Device and the HeartWare HVAD. He has also implanted other ventricular assist devices including the Terumo DuraHeart LVAS. Dr. Wieselthaler is the Secretary General of the International Society of Rotary Blood Pumps.

Vienna General Hospital is the 16th hospital in Europe and the 33rd hospital in the world to complete the first phase of CardioWest certification training. The third phase of CardioWest certification training is the proctored first implant of the artificial heart at that center.

Vienna General Hospital is the largest hospital in Austria, with 2,189 hospital beds. More than 300 years old, today Vienna General Hospital treats nearly 95,000 in-hospital patients each year.

There are currently 24 CardioWest certified centers worldwide, with nine additional hospitals undergoing the certification process. There are CardioWest certified centers in the United States, Germany, France, Canada and Austria. Hospitals in Sweden and Switzerland have also begun CardioWest certification training.

The CardioWest artificial heart is the first and only FDA, Health Canada and CE Mark approved temporary Total Artificial Heart in the world. Originally designed as a permanent replacement heart, it is currently approved as a bridge to human heart transplant for patients dying from end stage biventricular failure. These patients are often days, if not hours from death. Their survival depends on receiving a matching donor heart or a CardioWest artificial heart as a bridge to human heart transplant.

In the 10-year pivotal clinical study of the CardioWest artificial heart (New England Journal of Medicine 2004; 351: 859-867), 79 percent of patients receiving the artificial heart survived to transplant. This is the highest bridge-to-transplant rate for any heart device in the world. There have been more than 715 implants of the CardioWest, accounting for more than 125 patient years of life on the artificial heart.