DrChrono Blog

Can you live without a heart? Literally. The answer is Yes. Take a look at this documentray that will shake your beliefs of human physiology forever.

When Drs. Billy Cohn and Bud Frazier from the Texas Heart Institute diagnosed Craig Lewis’ amyloidosis condition, they knew he will die within hours. The only option for them was to cut out his entire heart and replace it with a centrifugal pump. Lewis then left the hospital and returned to his wife. **Conventionally and theoretically, Craig Lewis is dead. He has no heartbeat, no pulse, and no EKG signal. **How can this be possible?

Unfortunately for Lewis, although the pump performed effectively, the amyloidosis spread onto Lewis’ liver and kidneys and he died in April. This procedure, replacing a whole heart with a pump, has been tried on 50 calves before it was tried on humans. Filmmakers Jeremy Yaches and Jeremiah Zagar are now making a short documentary about this innovative but bizarre discovery.

[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/33741794 w=500&h=281]

The **Texas Heart Institute **is a not-for-profit cardiology and heart surgery center located within the Texas Medical Center in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1962 by Dr. Denton A. Cooley, its original charter stated its purpose was “the study and treatment of diseases of the heart and blood vessels. Today, the Institute’s mission is to reduce the devastating toll of cardiovascular disease through innovative programs in research, education, and improved patient care.