Doctors from the Sklifosovsky Research Institute brought a patient back to life using the domestic circulatory system

MOSCOW, September 22 - RIA Novosti. Doctors from the N.V. Sklifosovsky Research Institute of Emergency Medicine, using a domestic circulatory support system, restored the native heart function of a patient with severe heart failure, and now he has returned to his normal life without the device, Moscow Deputy Mayor for Social Development Anastasia Rakova told reporters.

She noted that circulatory support systems are used in patients for whom standard therapy no longer helps sufficiently, and heart transplantation is impossible or requires additional preparation.

“Sklif’s doctors chose exactly this tactic for a 64-year-old patient: they installed a domestic artificial left ventricle. The device took over a significant part of the heart’s work, allowing it to reduce the load on the heart muscle and normalize the pressure in the pulmonary artery,” Rakova said.

According to her, in May 2023, a man contacted Sklif with complaints of severe shortness of breath with minimal physical activity, swelling of the legs and general weakness. It was difficult for him to climb the stairs, and every 100–200 meters he had to stop to catch his breath. Previously, the patient had repeatedly undergone various treatments, but the effect of drug therapy was short-lived.

An examination at the Sklifosovsky Research Institute revealed a complex of diseases. The patient suffered a myocardial infarction; doctors also discovered a malfunction of one of the heart valves and increased pressure in the pulmonary artery.

All this was a contraindication to a heart transplant, so the specialists decided to take a different route - they performed plastic surgery of the tricuspid valve, which regulates the movement of blood between the right parts of the heart, and installed the patient with an auxiliary circulatory system - a domestic artificial left ventricle. The device took over a significant part of the heart’s work, which made it possible to reduce the load on the heart muscle and normalize the pressure in the pulmonary artery.

Subsequently, the patient was under constant medical supervision, and 2.5 years after the installation of the device, they came to the conclusion that the patient’s heart was already coping with its work independently. In July 2026, the artificial left ventricle was turned off.