First artificial heart transplant in Houston offering hope for people with end-stage heart disease

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A groundbreaking procedure performed in Houston is offering new hope for people with end-stage heart disease.

For the first time ever, doctors at the Texas Heart Institute at Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center implanted an artificial heart in a patient.

The 58-year-old had late-stage heart disease.

Behind the BiVACOR artificial heart

The BiVACOR Total Artificial Heart (TAH) is made out of titanium.

The device uses "magnetic levitation technology," also used in high-speed trains, to pump blood through the body.

The man received the device earlier this month and has since gotten a "real heart transplant."

The goal of the artificial device is to keep a patient alive long enough to get a real heart.

But there's hope. If trials are successful, the device could be a permanent solution.

"The other attempts at a permanent artificial heart have had several hundred moving parts. This has one. They've been limited," Dr. William Cohn said.

"We have to do that experiment. I can tell you in Huntington Beach, we have eight pumps that have been going without a failure in an aquarium," he continued. "Could this be a permanent device? Absolutely. Do we need to show it's safe and effective? Absolutely."

Four more patients will get the device as part of the ongoing study.

Why it could be a game-changer

At least 26 million people are affected worldwide by the epidemic.

Experts say 6.7 million Americans have heart failure.

Half of those newly diagnosed die within five years, and 90% die within 10 years.

The successful transplant also addresses critical challenges in cardiac care, such as long transplantation waitlists.