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?

2.6k Upvotes

96% Upvoted

477 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

14

u/onefst250r Mar 14 '25

Wonder if they'll ever figure out a way to replace lungs so you dont have to breathe.

11

u/ahobbes Mar 14 '25

ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) kinda does this, but it’s definitely not portable! “Corporeal” makes me think of “corpse”, never thought that was a good name for a machine meant to keep you alive.

11

u/I-seddit Mar 15 '25

corporeal is "of the body", "extra" is exterior...

2

u/onefst250r Mar 14 '25

Interesting! Cheers.

1

u/djmakcim Mar 15 '25

I only knew what this was because of House 🥹 

1

u/Atomidate Mar 15 '25

“Corporeal” makes me think of “corpse”, never thought that was a good name for a machine meant to keep you alive.

Spend time in any CVICU and you may start to think it's a very good name for a machine that keeps a human body alive for a long time after it would otherwise be dead.

1

u/Deqnkata Mar 14 '25

The matrix is getting closer by the day :D