Cheney Heart Pump in High Demand

By on March 27, 2012 in News 9

Vader ChestplateReports Katie Moisse on ABC News:

The pump that kept Dick Cheney’s blood flowing while he waited for a heart transplant has seen a surge in popularity, a trend credited in part to the 71-year-old’s successful 20-month stretch with the device.

“The reality is that many patients have come to us asking about the ‘Cheney pump,’” said Dr. Robert Kormos, director of the Artificial Heart Program at the University of Pittsburgh, referring to the Left Ventricular Assist Device or LVAD that pumped Cheney’s blood on behalf of his failing heart. “His positive presentation while on the device has very much been positive for the public impression of the therapy.”

For Cheney, the Left Ventricular Assist Device or LVAD was a bridge therapy, a temporary fix while the former vice president climbed a lengthy transplant waiting list. Cheney received his new heart Saturday at a hospital in Falls Church, Va. But for some patients, the device is a long-term solution to heart failure, a condition that kills 300,000 Americans each year …

Read More: ABC News

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  • Raz

    If it really works i can’t see why use it to save lives. Just because a bad man used it to safe himself don’t mean the technology is bad. It is just needed to be sure that people have a decent healthcare system so everyone can have access to it and don’t die when could be easly prevented.

    • Alex

       What if all recipients turn into murderous psychopaths like DC? If Science Fiction was taught us anything it’s that you need to heed these anecdotal warnings about out of control cyborgs.

      By the way, death isn’t a preventable affliction. You may run from it a couple of years spending a fortune in the process but it’ll get you in the end.

  • Okarin

     BEN

    I also thought he could be turned back to the

    good side. It couldn’t be done. He is more

    machine now than man. Twisted and evil.

  • discusthrower

    hmm..reminds me of the heart and lung machine of days past…  I wonder what, if any, residual health impacts there may be to using the device. I read that there were sometimes side effects to using the heart and lung machine.

    • Calypso_1

      LVADs are usually used while awaiting full transplant.  The nature of health problems from the underlying pathology requiring transplant are so great that impacts of the device are not of primary concern as it is a life saving measure.  However, the greatest risk is infection, which is very difficult to treat, because the the device provides a direct route to the heart.  Also there is need for anticoagulation therapy because of clotting that is caused by the flow of blood in the mechanical device.  This also results in anemia due to increased mechanical red blood cell destruction.

  • gwen jackson

    grrrrrrr! cheney zombie! cheney hungry! brains! braaaaaaaaaaains!

  • Redacted

    Isn’t Dick Cheney like 900 years old? That new heart of his won’t even have time to warm up before he keels over from old age.

    Then he’s off to Hell.

  • Killingjoke36

    I’m just surprised Cheney had a heart in the first place!

  • Lifobryan

    I always wondered why Cheney wore such wide & unfashionable ties … I think it was to hide the holes in his shirt where people had driven various wooden stakes through his heart. I suppose the ol’ unholy ticker could take only so much of that before it had to be replaced. 

    I suspect the real reason he started two wars was to open up a limitless supply of hearts & other vital organs harvested from people killed. Each time another dried up ghoulish bit falls off of his lurching undead body, there’s a fresh new bit to replace it. 

    Ever wonder why he always sits during speeches? Some say it’s because of his bad heart. I suspect it has more to do with the fact that its difficult to maintain balance on cloven hooves.