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ABIOMED Home > News > 34 Year Old Woman's Heart Recovers While Supported by ABIOMED's AB5000™ Circulatory Support System |
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| 34 Year Old Woman's Heart Recovers While Supported by ABIOMED's AB5000™ Circulatory Support System | ||||||||||||||
| Mother
of two avoids transplant after life-threatening virus attacks her
heart
DANVERS, Mass. (February 09, 2005) - ABIOMED, Inc. (NASDAQ: ABMD) a manufacturer of products for circulatory care and support, today announced a 34 year old mother of two was saved on the AB5000 Circulatory Support System while under the care of Dr. Charles Klodell at Shands at the University of Florida in Gainsville. After a virus attacked her heart she had her heart supported by the AB5000, and was listed for transplant. However, at the time that a donor heart became available, it was discovered that her native heart function had returned. The donor heart went to another patient, the device was weaned and she recovered and returned home with her natural heart. "This patient’s story represents the ideal outcome on the AB5000," said Dr. Klodell. "Our goal is always to try to recover the patient’s own heart first, even while keeping all other options open. While transplantation is an option for many patients, it is preferable to avoid the long-term medications if the native heart can recover. She has returned to the quality of life she enjoyed before she got sick." The patient first showed up at her local hospital after a week of flu-like symptoms. She did not have the flu but instead had acute viral myocarditis, a virus that attacked her heart. She went into cardiac arrest at her local hospital, was put on the BVS® 5000 to support her heart, and was airlifted to Shands Hospital where the clinical team transitioned her onto AB5000 support. She was on support for 40 days when a heart became available, at which time testing confirmed that her native heart had recovered. She has returned home, where she lives with her husband and daughter, age 14, and son, age 12. She has also returned to her job working in medical records. "We are very pleased that this patient has returned home with her natural heart, " said Michael R. Minogue, CEO and President of ABIOMED. "We are committed to helping patients recover their own hearts whenever possible." About ABIOMED This Release contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding development of ABIOMED’s existing and new products, the Company’s progress toward commercial growth, and future opportunities. The Company’s actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements based upon a number of factors, including uncertainties associated with development, testing and related regulatory approvals, anticipated future earnings or losses, complex manufacturing, high quality requirements, dependence on limited sources of supply, competition, technological change, government regulation, future capital needs and uncertainty of additional financing and other risks and challenges detailed in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Annual Report filed on Form 10-K. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this Release. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly release the results of any revisions to these forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances that occur after the date of this Release or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. ### Media Contact: Investor Relations:
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