Artificial Heart For Idaho Man

An artificial heart has been implanted in an Idaho man awaiting a human heart transplant.

It is the first time an artificial heart has been implanted in a patient in Utah since Seattle dentist Barney Clark became the first recipient of a permanent artificial heart in 1992.

The new patient, identified only as a 56-year-old man from Idaho, received the implant in an operation early Wednesday at LDS Hospital. He was listed in critical but stable condition.

Hospital spokesman Jess Gomez said the man’s name was not being released and he declined to identify the surgeon pending a news conference Wednesday.

LDS Hospital last month became the sixth medical center to have permission of the Food and Drug Administration to use the CardioWest C-70 artificial heart to keep patients alive until a suitable human heart can be found.

The heart is an improved version of the Jarvik-7 model that was implanted in Clark by Dr. William C. DeVries on Dec. 2, 1982.