2007-02-15 18:46:40 · 12 answers · asked by shabbarboy1991 2 in Environment
There is such a thing as a mechanical heart, but this is hardly something that you hear much about. At best it is used to hold someone over, for a short period of time, until a satisfactory organ donor is found. Researchers do hope to find methods to make such transplants of artificial organs more permanent but at this time it doesn't exist.
Just recently an artificial lung was developed and used on an individual. It held them over for about two days while they were waiting for suitable lung transplants, and it worked, and they found the organs, and she is still living today. But that is all the artificial lung is supposed to do, at this point, is to buy time, not be a permanent replacement.
As others have suggested, there are so many other things that can happen to a person as they age, lung disease, heart and artery disease, diabetes, severe infections, trauma, strokes, run of the mill flu or other viral outbreaks, kidney failure, liver failure, ect, ect. And any of these things could be fatal.
The push is on for genetic and cloning research and discovering how to actually grow new human organs. The idea is to take human cells, specifically the cells that are known to be the same ones that start the whole process of growing a human being, and then trigger them into growing whatever organ you might need. If and when that happens, for example, if you knew you had heart disease you could have a new one grown in the lab, then have it transplanted at the appropriate time. The same would go for other vital organs.
With advances in modern health care, preventative health care, better medications, ect, we are living longer than ever. Its not inconceivable that people could be living to be 200 or 400 at some point and some researchers have made this claim. I for one have no plans to hang around that long. You have to keep in mind, what would your quality of life be at 150, with 150 year old joints and bones, bad eyes, ect, ect.
Enough said, I hope this helps answer your questions.
2007-02-15 19:07:40 · answer #1 · answered by GK 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Dr Jarvis invented the artificial heart and it did indeed work. But unfortunately, they only tend to work for several months until the patient can obtain a transplant of a real human heart. The body tends to reject anything that is foreign to it, and anti-rejection drugs only work to some point. It is very difficult to keep a patient alive on an artificial heart alone, many die if they do not receive a transplant within a reasonable period of time.
2007-02-15 19:00:18 · answer #2 · answered by C J 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Not really well informed about the artificial heart but I would assume that you can still die because eventually your other organs will start to give out from either old age or disease.
2007-02-15 18:50:14 · answer #3 · answered by Aimee 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Not all the times because there is a greater risk of being rejected by the body and besides time will come that it will wear out because there is no permanent in this world. Even having an artificial heart is successful it will not assure you of immortality because human body is compose of complex organ that has separate fucntion but can work together. And time will come as we grow all that this organ will malfunction which will cause our death because as I said there is no permanent in this world. And the most important thing is there are many reasons for us to die but what value is salvation from God to attain eternal life and I hope you are one of those who will attain it as much as I do hope for me to attain salvation : )
2007-02-15 19:13:41 · answer #4 · answered by Ronelle P 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Idon't know about full artificial hearts, but partial pieces and pacemakers work IF the body doesn't reject it. If the thing works, then you still have to worry about things like scar tissue growing around the new part. Scar tissue can constrict and kill just like any other artery blockage. And of course, there are other things to die of besides heart failure :)
2007-02-15 18:55:20 · answer #5 · answered by slaughter114 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
they worked on experimental basis for a small practical/trial period.
even if artificial hearts become a complete reality in the coming century,we have to die because heart failure/stoppage is not the only reason for the end of life.a lot more reasons exist.
2007-02-17 03:04:45 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes the artificial heart works but this not ensures our imortality. my frnd heart is not only the organ which keep us alive there are many more organs in our body and one of them is Thymus gland due to which we are able to resist diseases.And the prominent cause of ageing and ultimately death is Degenration of Thymus Gland this is why we get old and finaly die indite of having a functional heart.
2007-02-16 17:22:45 · answer #7 · answered by AbuSaleh 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Kidneys, liver, can still fail and strokes can happen. So death is not avoidable. Artificial hearts will wear out too they are like any machine.
2007-02-15 18:49:25 · answer #8 · answered by Cherry_Blossom 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Artificial hearts - livers... lungs... the WHOLE 9 yards. Let's bring it on, b****. I'm wanna live forever.
2007-02-15 18:54:44 · answer #9 · answered by It finally happened! 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
no, you will die. there are more things that can go wrong than just your heart.
2007-02-15 19:02:49 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋