was dying from heart disease, volunteered for the
procedure expecting to live for only 1 to 2 days at
most, but instead survived for 112.
The device implanted in Clark, the Jarvik 7, was
invented by Robert Jarvik and implanted by surgeon
William DeVries. Jarvik’s invention was not the first
attempt at an artificial heart, but it proved to be the
most successful. Heart surgeons and bioengineers
had been attempting to develop an artificial heart
since the invention of a cardiopulmonary bypass de-
vice (heart-lung machine) in the 1950’s. Advances in
organ transplants served as an additional impetus,
especially following the first successful heart trans-
plant surgery in 1967. While heart transplantation
offered hope to heart-disease patients, it was obvious
there would never be as many donor organs avail-
able as there were recipients waiting for them. In
addition, an artificial heart would eliminate the
problems associated with tissue rejection and anti-
rejection drug regimens.
The Jarvik 7 had two pumps, analogous to the
right and left ventricles of a natural heart, to keep
blood flowing through the circulatory system. It was
powered externally using compressed air. The need
for an external power source was one of the short-
comings of the Jarvik 7. The break in the skin pro-
vided an ideal environment for infections, and the
power source itself made patient mobility difficult.
The compressor unit was described in the press at
the time as “the size of a washing machine” and “not
much smaller than a refrigerator,” although the real
issue was not so much the size of the power unit as it
was the fact that the patient’s mobility was limited by
the length of the air hoses.
Clark, who had been in extremely poor health at
the time of the procedure, never recovered to the
point of being able to leave the hospital. He was fully
informed of the risks prior to volunteering to be the
first recipient, and he had even visited the research
facility to see the calves being used as test subjects, so
he was fully aware of the need for an external power
source. His first reaction had been to say no to the
idea, but he volunteered anyway in the hope that
knowledge gained from his case would help others.
The second patient to receive a Jarvik 7 implant,
Bill Schroeder, enjoyed a slightly better outcome.
Schroeder’s procedure took place at a Humana hos-
pital in Louisville, Kentucky. Dr. DeVries had been
recruited by the cardiology research program at
Humana and performed a number of artificial im-
plants there. Schroeder suffered a setback two weeks
after the surgery when he had a major stroke, but he
nonetheless recovered sufficiently to leave the hos-
pital. His apartment was equipped with an air com-
pressor and an emergency generator. He was able to
travel using a portable system weighing about fifteen
pounds. Schroeder visited his hometown, went to a
basketball game, and even enjoyed fishing, despite
suffering from various complications, such as addi-
tional strokes and infections. He lived for 620 days
on the Jarvik 7.Impact Three other patients received the Jarvik 7
as a permanent replacement heart. One died a week
after the surgery; the others lived ten months and
fourteen months, respectively. After the first few
cases, the mainstream news media lost interest in the
artificial heart. Many reporters erroneously believed
that the Jarvik 7 had been a failure, when in fact in
the years that followed, heart surgeons continued to
use the Jarvik 7, as well as later models that evolved72 Artificial heart The Eighties in America
William DeVries discusses his implantation of the Jarvik 7 artifi-
cial heart.(AP/Wide World Photos)