Limited value found for first-generation heart pumps

"The first generation of ventricular assist devices - tiny pumps implanted in people with failing hearts - are costly but provide limited benefits, a study finds. However, the finding should not affect current medical practice, because the devices it describes are already being replaced by second- and third-generation VADS that are far superior, one expert said. The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, used data on almost 3,000 people who had VADs installed in a Medicare program between 2000 and 2006. Half the VADs were implanted as a primary treatment for heart failure, which is a progressive decline in the heart's ability to pump blood. The other half of the devices were implanted after a bypass surgery." - HealthDay News

Why heart pumps could kill off the transplant

"There are no rejection problems, and they cost a lot less than transplants. The new, smaller heart pumps could save thousands of lives. So why are they still treated as the poor relation?" - Times

B.C. boy believed to be youngest patient to receive tiny heart pump

A 13-year-old boy from the Vancouver-area has survived a potentially fatal heart condition by becoming the youngest patient in the world to receive the world's smallest heart pump. Sikander Sahota had the heart pump inserted last weekend at St. Paul's Hospital in Vancouver