"Carmat saved me": they owe their lives to the artificial heart of this French company threatened with extinction
Victims of terminal heart failure, Patrick and Romuald received a life-prolonging implant at the last minute while they awaited a heart transplant. Since July 1 , the company that produces this model, sometimes the only hope for some patients, has been placed in receivership.
November 29, 2024, remains etched in Patrick Boitelet's memory. Hooked up to an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation machine due to dilated cardiomyopathy, with no prospect of a quick transplant, he has only a few hours left to live.
When he was offered a Carmat implant , the 58-year-old initially refused. " I was so weak, at the end of my rope. I had lost 30 kg. I could no longer lift my phone. It was my wife who convinced me by saying: "Don't leave me like this." " For Marilyne, his wife, he accepted. "Then the machine took over and I began to see a small patch of blue sky in place of the long tunnel."
Sitting on his bed in the severe heart failure medical-surgical unit at the Georges-Pompidou European Hospital, Patrick tells his story as if it were a miracle. A cable at the bottom of his abdomen now connects him to a 3kg bag containing rechargeable batteries and a monitor for monitoring the prosthesis, which can also be powered by the mains. A lifeline rather than a string.
A discreet pumping noise also signals the presence of the electromechanical pulser. Never far from her husband, Marilyne saw him reborn. The one who could no longer
L'Humanité
