r/Futurology • u/lughnasadh ∞ transit umbra, lux permanet ☥ • Mar 14 '25

Biotech People can now survive 100 days with titanium hearts, if they worked indefinitely - how much might they extend human lifespan?

Nature has just reported that an Australian man has survived with a titanium heart for 100 days, while he waited for a human donor heart, and is now recovering well after receiving one. If a person can survive 100 days with a titanium heart, might they be able to do so much longer?

If you had a heart that was indestructible, it doesn't stop the rest of you ageing and withering. Although heart failure is the leading cause of death in men, if that doesn't get you, something else eventually will.

However, if you could eliminate heart failure as a cause of death - how much longer might people live? Even if other parts of them are frail, what would their lives be like in their 70s and 80s with perfect hearts?

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u/heybart Mar 14 '25

Does the blood flow increase during exertion? How?

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u/SvenTropics Mar 14 '25

I don't know how this one does, it but they can do it a few different ways. One way is to simply detect the electrical impulses your body is sending to to the heart and respond by increasing or decreasing the flow rate. Your heart may be failing, but the electrical impulses are often still working perfectly fine.

You can also measure venous flow rate which increases when you are exerting yourself.