The man lived 555 days without a heart and even played sports with his friends

A man survived more than a year without a heart and even played sports with his friends during this time.

Stan Larkin was kept alive by an “artificial heart,” which was strapped to his back for 555 days as he awaited a transplant in a case that stunned the medical world.

The 25-year-old has been diagnosed with familial cardiomyopathy – a type of heart failure that can strike without warning and kill people, regardless of their health.

He had no idea he was suffering from this potentially fatal disease until he collapsed without warning while playing a basketball game.

The disease is also linked to sudden death in athletes and Stan’s brother Dominique suffers from it as well.

Stan was in desperate need of a new heart, which meant he would have to stay in the hospital so he could be watched until he had a transplant.

But instead, doctors at the University of Michigan installed the 13-pound Temporary Total Artificial Heart (TAH) SyncArdia device while he waited for a donor.

A temporary total artificial heart is used when the heart fails on both sides, but unlike normal heart devices – which typically work with only one side of the heart – it works with both.

Stan’s TAH came in the form of a portable freedom pilot that he carried in a backpack.

This allowed him to live a “normal” life and even play basketball.

He eventually underwent a heart transplant in 2016.

He said Daily science at the time: “It was an emotional roller coaster.

“I had the transplant two weeks ago and feel like I could jog while we talk.

“I want to thank the donor who gave himself for me. I would like to meet their family one day. I hope they will want to meet me.”

Jonathan Haft, associate professor of cardiac surgery who performed the operation for Stan, said: “They (Stan and Dominique) were both very, very sick when we first met them in our intensive care units. .

“We wanted to do heart transplants for them, but we didn’t think we had enough time. There’s just something about their unique anatomical situation where other technology wasn’t going to work.”

Dominique did not have HAI instead, he stayed in the hospital for six weeks before having a heart transplant.