What is today? Oh, it's Forgetful Friday with Aortic Hope!
The struggle is real when it comes to Pumphead.
What exactly is Pumphead?
In Scientific American, Bruce Stutz explains in his article, "Pumphead: Does the Heart/Lung Machine Have a Dark Side?" the following:
The heart-lung machine, first used on humans in 1953, revolutionized coronary surgery by giving doctors an hour or more to operate on a still heart. Previous techniques allowed only 15 minutes.
Since the inception of the machine, medicine has recorded cognitive decline inpatients hooked up to it. The condition, later nicknamed “pumphead,” was thought to be short-lived and was often attributed to the general trauma of surgery.
Recently, long-term studies of patients have shown that pumphead may worsen over time and persist for years. Many factors could be involved, but microscopic cell debris and bubbles generated by the machine are under suspicion.
To learn more about one man's experience with the machine and subsequent Pumphead, check out the article HERE.