Saint Thomas Health has become the first medical system in the state to integrate the Total Artificial Heart into its cardiac-care services.

The system is being made available to patients with end-stage heart biventricular failure (a type of heart failure that affects both sides of the heart), for whom a donor heart isn’t readily available. The TAH would replace the left and right ventricles and the four heart valves, and nests in the space previously occupied by the removed heart. The TAH connects to an external “driver,” a pump that serves as a monitor for the unit. The heart device not only enables patients to be discharged to home, but increases their chance of survival while giving them an enhanced quality of life; plus, it readies eligible individuals for transplant by re-establishing blood flow and boosting organ function.

The technology behind the TAH is being made available by a partnership between Saint Thomas Health and SynCardia, maker of the world’s most widely used Total Artificial Heart.

According to a press release, Saint Thomas Health – part of Ascension Healthcare, the nation’s largest nonprofit healthcare system – has the largest heart-treatment program in Tennessee, serving in excess of 5,000 cardiac patients a year, between physician practices and hospitals.

President and CEO of Saint Thomas Midtown and West Hospitals Fahad Tahir said in the release, “We are honored to be the first in Tennessee to integrate total artificial heart into the comprehensive cardiac services offered by our cardiologists and heart surgeons at Saint Thomas Health.”

Tahir went on to say, “This technology continues a legacy of innovation, allowing us to save lives and improve the quality of life for individuals requiring highly specialized heart care. We are so appreciative of the Speer Foundation [which helped fund the program] for supporting this important initiative.”

Ashok N. Babu, M.D., will oversee the program as surgical director; Kyle Stribling, M.D., will serve as its medical director.