Hershey, Pa. -- Gayle Snider, the first U.S. patient to go home from the hospital with the Arrow LionHeart heart-assist device, today (June 7) went home again -- this time with a new human heart. Snider, who was kept alive for more than one year by the left-ventricular heart assist device (LVAD) before receiving a transplanted heart, was discharged from Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center Monday afternoon. His release from the hospital comes just more than two weeks following his heart transplant on Saturday, May 22. The heart donor was a 24-year-old man. For photos, go to http://live.psu.edu/still_life/2004_06_07_hershey/index.html
"I have a whole new lease on life because of my transplant," said Snider during an afternoon press conference. "I wouldn't have had a chance to get a transplant without the LionHeart, because I probably wouldn't be here."
Snider, 36, from York, Pa., marked one year with the heart assist device on May 14. He said in a statement to the media that week: "It's hard to believe it's been a year. Although I haven't had any surprises and have grown comfortable with the device and the few changes I've had to make in my life since I had the surgery, I'm very excited about the next step -- getting a heart transplant."
Snider, who prior to transplant became the longest-surviving U.S. patient with the device, had few complications, gained weight and has been smoke-free since receiving the LionHeart last year. He will continue monthly appointments with his cardiologist, John P. Boehmer, and surgeon, Walter E. Pae Jr., Penn State Cardiovascular Center, Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.
Although the LionHeart is intended as a long-term therapy for patients with end-stage heart failure who are not candidates for heart transplantation, some patients whose health improves markedly may become eligible for transplant. For more information about the LionHeart, visit http://www.pennstatelionheart.com