THE first patient to be fitted with a device designed to “turbocharge” an ailing heart, without greatly increasing the risk of blood clots and other life-threatening complications, is recovering in a New Zealand hospital following surgery earlier this month.
The device, called a C-Pulse, has yet to prove its mettle. But the heart specialists who invented it hope it will one day be used to treat thousands of patients who suffer so-called “moderate” heart failure. These people are not ill enough for a heart transplant or an artificial heart, with the risks they bring. But they may suffer symptoms such…
