Artificial heart patient dies

A sixth man received the AbioCor artificial heart, but did not survive the surgery.

(CNN) -- The sixth person to receive an implanted artificial heart did not survive the surgery, officials from Abiomed, the heart's manufacturer, said Wednesday.

The patient, identified only as a man, received the implant Tuesday at the Texas Heart Institute in Houston. Doctors said he died from severe bleeding related to his heart failure and previous therapy with anti-clotting drugs.

"This patient knew he had no other hope than this clinical trial and he was determined to take this chance," said Dr. O.H. Frazier, one of the lead surgeons in the procedure.

The Food and Drug Administration has approved implantation of Abiomed's device, the AbioCor artificial heart, only in limited clinical trials for the very sickest of patients. To qualify, patients must have failed all other treatments, be ineligible for a heart transplant, and have a high probability of dying within a month.

"He showed tremendous courage by choosing to participate in this procedure," Frazier said, "and those of us who have come to know this person are truly saddened by this loss."

The man's death came just one day after Abiomed, based in Danvers, Massachusetts, received permission from the FDA to proceed with five more implants as part of its clinical trials.

The first five patients to receive the AbioCor heart are in various stages of recovery, and doctors say the hearts are functioning flawlessly.

The first recipient, however, has suffered several serious setbacks in recent weeks. Robert Tools, 59, of Franklin, Kentucky, had a stroke on November 11 that left him partially paralyzed on his right side. Ten days later he experienced bleeding in the stroke-damaged area of his brain. Doctors said Tools had been unable to receive customary anti-clotting therapy to prevent strokes because it was causing stomach bleeding.