Topic > Essay on Heart Failure - 1951

It is essential for the human body that the heart pumps a sufficient amount of nutrient-rich blood to the body's cells, because otherwise the body will not be able to function normally. When a heart muscle is unable to pump enough blood to meet the body's regular demand, it is called heart failure. Heart failure can usually be treated through conventional cardiac therapies and symptom management strategies, however conventional therapies do not work for all heart failure patients, this is what is described as advanced heart failure or end-stage heart failure. In other words, "end-stage" heart failure occurs when the condition becomes so severe that all conventional treatments no longer work. The only treatment that works for end-stage heart failure is to undergo heart transplant surgery to remove a person's diseased heart and replace it. with a healthy heart from a deceased donor. However there are two big general problems with this treatment. The first problem is that the patient is subject to a lack of availability of donor organs and therefore to possible further decompensations and potential death while waiting for the transplant. According to the American Heart Association, there are more than 500,000 new cases of end-stage heart failure in the United States each year. With only 2,200 heart donors available each year, nearly 20-30% of patients die while waiting for a transplant. The second problem with this treatment modality is that not all patients are eligible for heart transplant. Patients who have another disease besides end-stage heart failure are not eligible for a heart transplant. The discrepancy between the clinical need for donor hearts and the total number of available hearts, as well as the lack of treatment or...... half of the paper ...... the best material for this application The future for the Total artificial heart compared to the use of polyurethanes comes in the form of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), also known as polyurethane elastomers which have molecular structures similar to those of human proteins. TPUs have slower protein absorption (protein absorption is the beginning of the blood clotting process), this makes TPUs ideal candidates in the production of the total artificial heart because it provides greater adhesive strength and mimics some elements all inside the body. Therefore, biomedical polyurethanes may pave the way to eliminating some acute health challenges that the total artificial heart currently faces. Thanks to their multiple properties, polyurethanes and their new applications will continue to play an important role in the future of the total artificial heart.