Heart pump heals patients with severe heart problems

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Walter Harsche was diagnosed with congestive heart failure three years ago and was told he needed a heart transplant.

"I was all set to go if the phone call came," Harsche said.

More than half a million people are living with advanced heart failure. For those who can't manage it with medication, a heart transplant is their only option.

But researchers say a heart pump, known as a left ventricular assist device, normally designed to keep patients alive until transplant may save patients from going under the knife. With time, the heart pump could actually become a bridge to recovery.

That was true for Harsche. His doctor implanted the pump for temporary support. But while he waited for a new heart, his own began to get stronger.

Walter enrolled in a first-of-its-kind trial, testing the heart pump as a way to heal the heart so it can beat on its own.

The device is used in most patients for between six and nine months to strengthen the heart and then patients are slowly weaned off the device, researchers say. Patients whose heart failure is not related to a heart attack or severe coronary artery disease are candidates for the procedure.

"We're not talking about life with a heart on crutches. We're talking about a life lived well," said Eduardo Rame, director of mechanical circulatory support at the University of Pennsylvania.

"The patient is walking around doing what they want to," he added.

Studies in Europe showed after treatment most patients were free from heart failure for more than two years.

Two years ago, Harsche was on the device for seven months. Today, his heart, like his marriage, is going strong.

"I'm very happy you're a miracle. You're my miracle," his wife recently told him.

"I'm happy too, believe me!" he said.