Whirring comforts artificial heart man

The first person with a self-contained artificial heart says he is comforted by the whirring sound it makes.

Robert Tools, from Kentucky, says the noise took some getting used to - but that it "makes me realise I'm alive".

The 59-year-old was speaking at his first public appearance since undergoing the ground-breaking operation on July 2.

The former telephone company employee had a titanium-and-plastic pump the size of a softball put inside his chest. Without the operation, he had been given just a month to live.

"I'm still getting used to it," he said. "And the biggest thing is getting used to not having a heartbeat, except here I have a whirring sound and that makes me realise that I'm alive because I can hear it without a stethoscope."

A diabetic with a history of heart problems, he chose to undergo the highly experimental operation at Jewish Hospital, in Louisville, after he had been deemed too ill to receive a transplant.

"I had a choice to stay home and die or come here and take a chance," said Mr Tools, from Franklin, 140 miles south of Louisville. "I decided to come here and take a chance."

Mr Tools moved to Franklin from Colorado five years ago hoping to receive a heart transplant, but he grew so weak he could barely cross the street. He said he was on his "last few days of life" when his cardiologist told him about the artificial heart option.

Doctors hope the artificial heart will extend the lives of patients like Mr Tools by a month. He has gone seven weeks since the operation, and doctors said they are pleased with his recovery.

Dr Laman Gray says if Mr Tools gains strength, a heart transplant could become an option in four to six months. His liver and kidney, which were failing at the time of the surgery, are now functioning normally.