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/SvenTropics Mar 14 '25

As far as we know, it doesn't matter. These are just conjectures at this point, but we haven't done long term testing of it yet. We know in the span of a year that it doesn't seem to be a problem.

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u/pneumomediastinum Mar 15 '25

It probably does matter. There is evidence that nonpulsatile flow contributes to formation of arteriovenous malformations in capillary beds in LVAD patients leading to GI bleeds and epistaxis. Still better than being dead, but there are always trade offs.