Medical Minutes- "heartless man"

Caitlin Woods                                                                                                                   Due: Jan 13

Medical Minutes

Meet the world's first HEARTLESS man who is able to live without a pulse

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER 
Web: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2096314/Meet-HEARTLESS-man-able-live-heartbeat-PULSE.html

Summary:

A patient is suffering from amyloidosis which is causing his heart to fail. His name is Craig Lewis and is 55 married to his wife Linda Lewis. He was told he had only 12 hours to live or have his heart replaces by a device that would circulate his blood. Mr. Lewis consented and after the surgery became the first made to live without a pulse.

The minds behind this revolutionary device are Dr. Billy Cohn and Dr. Bud Frazier who work at the Texas Heart Institute. This artificial heart uses blades to move the blood to the rest of the body. Due to the continuous flow there is no pulse that can be detected even with an EKG. This article also reverences a short film about this new medical advancement.

This device was tested on almost 50 cows. Where the doctors would take the entire heart and replace it with their pump. The discovered the calves awoke like any normal day nothing had changed except the sound of his heart. Dr. Cohn said you could listen to her chest with a stethoscope and all you could hear is a hum.

Reaction:

            The creation of this new device can lead to more transplant patients living longer. Now they do not have to wait for someone else to die in order for them live. However, I seem to have mixed feelings regarding ethics. Are doctors playing God?  Now, if your heart is failing; all you need to do is get another machine put in you. When do they draw the line?

Learning points:

            Turns out I do not need a heart to live

            You have to go through a lot of testing animals before going to humans

Use/Application:

            I personal will not use this information to better my life because I do not plan to lose the function of my heart. However, I realize that the medical field is always changing. New things are being made to extend the life of all humans. Others can use Dr. Billy Cohn and Dr. Bud Frazier device to create even newer and better versions to keep people living longer.

Medical Terminology:

1. dialysis- medical procedures that removes waste or toxins from the blood and adjust fluid and electrolyte imbalances by utilizing rates at which substances diffuse through a semipermeable membrane.

2. amyloidosis- a disorder characterized by the deposition of amyloid (abnormal protein)in organs or tissues of the human body.