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who invented the artificial heart

The artificial heart was not invented by just one person; several key pioneers contributed, but the best‑known “inventor of the artificial heart” is Robert Jarvik , who created the first permanently implantable total artificial heart, the Jarvik‑7, in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Earlier, surgeons Denton Cooley and Domingo Liotta implanted the first total artificial heart as a temporary bridge to transplant in 1969, and others like Paul Winchell also patented early artificial heart designs.

Quick Scoop

  • Most credited name: Robert Jarvik, known as the inventor of the first permanently implantable artificial heart (the Jarvik‑7).
  • Historic first surgery: Denton Cooley and Domingo Liotta implanted the first total artificial heart in a human in 1969 as a short‑term bridge before transplant.
  • Early patent work: Entertainer‑inventor Paul Winchell filed a patent for a mechanical artificial heart design in 1961, showing the idea predates clinical use.
  • First long‑term implant: In 1982, surgeon William DeVries implanted the Jarvik‑7 artificial heart in patient Barney Clark, making world headlines.
  • Today’s landscape: Modern devices like CARMAT’s Aeson and BiVACOR’s magnetically levitated total artificial heart continue this line of innovation into the mid‑2020s.

Who “invented” the artificial heart?

Because the artificial heart evolved over decades, “who invented the artificial heart” depends on what counts as invention :

  • Concept and patent stage:
    • Paul Winchell, working with physician Henry Heimlich, designed and patented a mechanically driven artificial heart in 1961.
* This was an engineering design, not a device that went directly into patients, but it established an early blueprint.
  • First total artificial heart in a person (temporary):
    • On April 4, 1969, Denton Cooley and Domingo Liotta implanted the first total artificial heart into a patient in Houston as a bridge to transplant.
* The device kept the patient alive for about 64 hours until a donor heart was available, proving that a mechanical heart could sustain circulation, even if only briefly.
  • First permanently implantable artificial heart:
    • Robert Jarvik developed the Jarvik‑7 , widely described as the first permanently implantable total artificial heart.
* Jarvik’s work at the University of Utah turned earlier concepts and prototypes into a device meant to stay in the body long term, even though complications limited how long patients actually lived with it.

The famous 1982 Jarvik‑7 case

  • In December 1982, surgeon William DeVries implanted the Jarvik‑7 into Barney Clark , a dentist with end‑stage heart disease who volunteered to undergo this experimental operation.
  • Clark survived for months rather than days, showing that a total artificial heart could support long‑term circulation, even though he faced major complications and remained tethered to an external air compressor.

These events cemented Jarvik’s reputation in popular culture as the person who “invented the artificial heart,” even though it built on earlier surgeons’ and engineers’ work.

Modern artificial hearts and latest news

Artificial hearts have moved from bulky experimental systems to more compact and technically sophisticated devices in the 2020s.

  • CARMAT Aeson heart:
    • CARMAT’s Aeson is described as a highly advanced total artificial heart aimed at patients with severe biventricular heart failure.
* By 2024, Aeson had been implanted in over 40 patients in Europe, and the company reported plans to expand its clinical use and data in 2025.
  • BiVACOR magnetically levitated heart:
    • BiVACOR is developing a titanium total artificial heart that uses magnetic levitation (MAGLEV) to keep its moving rotor suspended without mechanical contact.
* The device received FDA Breakthrough Device Designation in 2025 after early feasibility studies in U.S. patients in 2024, which reported promising safety and performance.
  • Technical shift:
    • Newer devices focus on being smaller, more durable, and suitable for a wider range of patients, including women, not just large-framed men.
* Engineering advances reduce friction and wear, aiming for longer support with fewer strokes and device‑related complications than older pumps like the Jarvik‑7.

Why the inventor question is tricky

  • Medical devices such as the artificial heart pass through concept → prototype → temporary clinical use → permanent implants → next‑generation designs , and each phase often has different people leading it.
  • Because of this, sources may alternately highlight Winchell (early patent), Cooley/Liotta (first implant), or Jarvik (first permanent device) when answering “who invented the artificial heart.”

From a modern historical and popular standpoint, when someone asks “who invented the artificial heart?” , the most accepted short answer is: Robert Jarvik, inventor of the first permanently implantable artificial heart (Jarvik‑7).

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.