Artificial hearts date back to the mid 1950s when Dr. Paul Winchell first patented it. In 1982, a Seattle dentist, Dr. Barney Clark was the first person implanted with the Jarvik-7, an artificial heart intended to last a lifetime. William DeVries, an US surgeon performed the surgery.
Robert Jarvik designed the Jarvik-7 artificial heart. The patient survived 112 days. At the end of 1998 US heart specialist Michael DeBakey performed world’s first in heart surgery with a totally new device. If this electric heart proves successful, it could be a permanent alternative to a heart transplant. The first human heart transplant operation was conducted by Neethling Barnard on December 3, 1967. This was the first time a sick person’s heart was replaced by a heart taken from a dead person.
