Heart transplantation and artificial heart assisted surgical treatment

Heart failure is a complex group of clinical symptoms of various cardiovascular diseases to the end stage, with a very poor prognosis, high mortality, and a 5-year survival rate similar to that of malignant tumors. Moreover, the incidence of heart failure is high, with a prevalence of 0.9% in the 35-74 age group in China, and it is estimated that there are at least 3-4 million heart failure patients in China. Heart failure is a structural and functional change of the myocardium caused by various causes of myocardial injury (myocardial infarction, hemodynamic overload, inflammation), which finally leads to ventricular pumping hypoperfusion and is a progressive pathology. Patients with heart failure mainly present with chest tightness, shortness of breath, cough (foamy sputum), edema, dyspnea at night, inability to lie down, and difficulties in daily life. Treatment for heart failure is currently mainly through medication, but for patients with severe end-stage heart failure, the application of an artificial heart assist device or heart transplantation through the surgical route is an effective treatment option. Artificial heart assist is a mechanical cardiac assist device that draws blood from the heart and feeds it into the arterial system through an artificial heart to maintain circulation. It is a powerful resuscitation measure for severe heart failure. By maintaining and increasing body and lung circulation, ensuring and improving tissue perfusion, reducing myocardial oxygen consumption and increasing myocardial oxygen supply, the failing heart is restored to function or temporarily replaces heart function, saving the patient’s life. For patients with end-stage heart failure, such as severe heart enlargement and cardiomyopathy, the only treatment is heart transplantation, in which the patient’s damaged heart is removed and replaced with a healthy heart. In the past, people thought that “heart transplantation” seemed to exist only in mythological stories, but with the improvement of medical technology and the application of immunosuppressive drugs, “heart transplantation” has become a routine operation in large heart centers such as the cardiac surgery department of Xijing Hospital.