First Briton to be walking with a completely artificial heart, Mathew Green is one among the 900 people whose hearts are replaced with 'bridge-to-transplant' devices.The device, which is slightly larger than the human heart and weighs less than six ounces, delivers blood to the body with the help of a pump that is carried in a rucksack along with a battery.
Doctors at Papworth Hospital in Cambridgeshire decided to fit him with the device in a Pounds 100,000 operation as Green's heart condition began deteriorating and no suitable donor was found.
Though some parts of the Total Artificial Heart have a 50-year working life, the 40-year-old is expected to use it for around three years, until a donor is found.
The patient said he felt 'fantastic' as he spoke about the new lease of life he has been given.
"I felt so ill before, so now to be feeling so well and full of life is great. I feel very lucky," he said.
"I'm still recovering from my operation so not all of the bones in my chest have healed yet. I struggle to carry it [the rucksack containing the pump and batteries] but I can walk around fine. I needed a trolley to start with," he added.
"It feels very different - before the operation my heart beat was very weak and I could hardly feel my pulse," he said.
"Now it's a very strong heart beat. Two years ago I was cycling nine miles [15km] to work and nine miles back every day but by the time I was admitted to hospital I was struggling to walk even a few yards. I am really excited about going home and just being able to do the everyday things that I haven't been able to do for such a long time - such as playing in the garden with my son and cooking a meal for my family."
Green, a pharmaceutical consultant who lives with wife Gill and their five-year-old son Dylan in London, was diagnosed with Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy, a disease of the heart muscle that can cause arrhythmia, heart failure, and sudden death.