Scandinavian Real Heart

The goal with Realheart's artificial heart is to provide a good enough permanent solution for the most severely affected patients. Those who for various reasons cannot have a heart transplant. An artificial heart does not require patients to take the heavy medications that a transplant requires. Medications that are known to cause serious side effects such as cancer and infections.

" Relheart, like BiVACOR, is now in an advanced stage of development and the first patient studies are likely to be conducted in the near future. One of the biggest challenges in growing this market is to inform all referring physicians that mechanical hearts are an option", says Dr. Ulf Kjellman.

During the interview, Dr. Kjellman took us back to 1969 - the year when the first artificial heart was implanted in a patient in the US - an important milestone where it was made clear that a very sick person can survive until transplantation thanks to the bridging of an artificial heart. He further explained what an artificial heart is and how it works. In particular, he highlighted the difference between a temporary and a permanent solution and stressed the importance of the patient's quality of life.

Link to the interview on YouTube (Swedish).