Man lives 555 days without a heart
To passers-by, the 25-year-old Ypsilanti, Michigan, resident appeared to be a typical young adult. He enjoyed taking his three toddlers to the park and hanging out with his younger brother, Dominique.
What wasn't obvious was that a gray backpack Larkin carried was what kept him alive. Inside that bag was the power source for an artificial heart pumping in his chest.
Larkin's real heart was removed from his body in November 2014. It was replaced with a device that allowed Larkin to stay home instead of in a hospital while waiting to receive a transplant.
It finally arrived this year, in May. Now, Larkin is recovering from his procedure at the University of Michigan Frankel Cardiovascular Center. He is scheduled to return home as early as next week.
"Most people would be scared to go so long with [an artificial heart], but I just want to tell them that you have to go through the fear, because it helps you," Larkin said. "I'm going home so fast after the transplant because it helped me stay healthy before the transplant."
At any given time, there are about 4,000 patients nationwide waiting for human heart transplants, according to the U.S. Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network.
Some patients with end-stage heart failure may wait months or even years before a suitable donor heart becomes available, said Dr. Billy Cohn, a cardiovascular surgeon and director of the Center for Technology and Innovation at the Texas Heart Institute.
"Many of these patients have hearts that are so weak, the kidneys, liver and other critical organs will fail while they are waiting," said Cohn, who was not involved in Larkin's care. "Many of these patients would die without some form of support," such as an artificial heart.
Larkin didn't realize that his heart was suffering until nine years ago, when he collapsed without warning while playing in a basketball game. It turned out that Larkin had a genetic form of heart disease called familial cardiomyopathy. His brother, Dominique, 24, was soon found to have it, too.
The condition occurs when heart muscle stretches and enlarges the open area of at least one heart chamber, inhibiting the organ from pumping blood efficiently.
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