Healing A (Literally) Broken Heart

(CBS)  Salina Gonzales' heart was broken - literally - and then healed.

It's all thanks to a highly unusual medical procedure that holds promise for the thousands of people every year who need a heart transplant and can't get one, as CBS Evening News Saturday anchor Jeff Glor reports.

Just over three years ago, Gonzales, 27, was told that she had one month to live.

Suffering from congestive heart failure, doctors said she needed a heart transplant to survive.

"I can remember being in the hospital and looking out the window and wanting to be outside," she said.

But with no transplant available, Dr. Roberta Bogeav of the Texas Heart Institute found another way to keep her alive - by installing an experimental pump in her chest, called an LVAD.

"[The device] inserts into the left ventricle to assist it this is the main housing on the pump which spins in revolutions per minute very similar to an axle pump in a car," Bogeav said.

Six months after the procedure, the pump was working surprisingly well, and Gonzales resumed her work as an elementary school teacher

"I had to be very careful. I couldn't jump. I couldn't get it wet. So it was a life changing experience but it's really what saved my life so I carried it with happiness," said Gonzales, who had to carry a battery pack for the LVAD.

Then something even more miraculous happened. While the pump was doing all the work, Gonzales' damaged heart was able to repair itself.

Around this time last year Dr. Bogeav and her team at the Heart Institute were so confident with the progress of Gonzales' heart that they removed the pump altogether.

A year later,, Gonzales says she has a normal life, spending time with her son, taking him to t-ball practice, and even excercising.

But Gonzales' outcome is unusual. Of the 2,300 patients worldwide who have received the pump, fewer than 1 percent have recovered to this level.

Now, on the anniversary of her pump removal, Gonzales has a newly healed heart, and a whole new outlook on life.

"Before, I would live my life, you know, I had faith, but I had fear in my life," she said. "Now I just have no fear."

Gonzales is on medication designed to maintain her heart function without the pump for life.

[cojodoggy]

this just happened to my son bryson williams of goleta ca.his was on the pump for 5 months and his heart recovered the doctors and cedars sinai medical hospital are over joyed e-mail us for the full story this is a true miracle.

[puzzler125]

We DO like to hear stories with happy endings and in particular stories that may have something to teach doctors and therefore help many more patients in the future!

[goosfraba2]

Kudos to all the doctors, scientists, medical teams, et al. for this and many more creations and discoveries which bring smiles to so many!

[eddiebeedytheaWeSoMe]

That tis coolio...foo

[NancyLou9]

Wow, something nearly miraculous happens and people are throwing stones at the story telling us about it. What I think the point of the story is to tell us about an advancement in medical research and invention, giving people a greater chance at a quality of life they couldn't enjoy previous to the procedure.

This woman was knocking on death's door and due to a great medical advancment, she is now back to teaching and spending time with her son, something she couldn't do before the procedure.

Whether it works for others or not isn't irrelevant but as in any new procedure, sadly, some people die before it's improved.

Let's look at the good in this, rather than the bad, how about that?

[Meg003]

The pump was designed to function as a way to keep a dying patient alive long enough to get a heart transplant. While fewer than 1% have had their heart repair themselves, that does not mean the others died. Most survived long enough for transplants, others are still alive on the device, and some died.

CBS can make a muddle out of any story. This one is no exception.