The World Health Organization says heart disease kills about 17 million people every year and that it will become the leading cause of death in developing countries. But now, there is some hope. A new device is being marketed that could save countless lives. Seventy-eight-year-old Richard Stowe has a mechanical pump inside his chest that keeps blood flowing throughout his body. The only evidence is a battery pack and a power line on his side. "The two batteries are feeding power to the controller and then to my chest," he said. "There is no feeling. It just feels very normal like I had no pump." 七十八岁的里查德.斯托，在他的胸腔有一个机械泵，通过泵血液不断地在他的身体里流动。唯一的迹象就是在他腰边有一个电池组和电源线。“两节电池给控制器供电然后给我的胸腔提供动力，”他说道。“没有感觉。就感觉很正常，就像没有心功能泵一样。” Stowe is at the forefront of a revolution in the way heart patients are being cared for. 斯托是在那场关注心脏病病人变革中最先受到关注的病人。 Dr. Leslie Miller at Washington Hospital Center is involved in clinical trials of heart pumps, including this one that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved as a device that can permanently replace the heart for patients who are too old to be considered for a heart transplant. ‘华盛顿医院中心’莱斯利.米勒医生参与了各种心功能泵的临床试验，其中包括这种业已通过了‘美国食品与药物管理局’认可的装置，这种装置可以永久性地代替心脏，适用于那些不能做心脏移植的老年病人。 "Heart failure really begins to increase over the age of 60 when the chances of heart transplantation diminish, so this is going to be a major therapeutic option for a great many patients in the future," Dr. Miller said. “超过六十岁，心力衰竭实际上开始增加，而心脏可移植的机会则变小，因此，这种泵将成为很多病人主要的治疗选择，”米勒医生说道。 Heart pumps were initially considered a stopgap measure...until a donor heart became available. But the newest pumps are small. They are attached directly to the heart and connected to a battery outside the body. 心功能泵起初被认为是临时措施……直至等到有人捐献心脏为止。但最新的泵很小。可以直接附在心脏上，并与体外的电池相连。 "These cables would hook up, and this would power it. And this would sit on your belt. So it would sit like this and there would be batteries that you could either put in a fanny pack or there are all kinds of jackets you could wear in order to support the batteries," Dr. Miller explained. “电缆可以挂起来，这就可以供电了。这东西可以放在皮带上。因此可以像这样安放。有些电池既可以放在腰包里，也可以放在各种可以托起电池的夹克衫，”米勒医生解释道。 In cases of severe heart disease only eight percent of patients can survive two years. But in a study involving the HeartMate II pump, 58 percent of patients survived that long. 严重的心脏病多数情况下只有百分之八能够存活两年。但是，通过参与‘第二代心脏伴侣’心功能泵的研究，百分之58的病人可存活的时间很长了。 Stowe recalls how little he could do before getting a heart pump. "Very debilitating, 25 to 30 feet at maximum would be the distance I could walk without needing a rest," he said. 斯托先生回忆，在安置心功能泵前，他几乎什么都不能做。“非常虚弱， 最长走25到30 英尺距离就得歇一会，”他说道。 "Changing people from a very limited functional capacity is one of the greatest parts of this technology," Dr. Miller said. “改变机能严重受限的人群是科技最大目标之一，”米勒医生说道。 Heart pumps are not just for the elderly. They are being used by teenagers and even babies whose hearts have been damaged by viruses. Researchers are now looking at these mechanical pumps as a way to let the heart rest and recover. 心功能泵不只是老年人用。它们正被用于少年人群，甚至用于被病毒损伤了心脏的婴儿。研究人员现在正在研究这些机械泵,以此方式让心脏得到休息和恢复。 As for cost, Dr. Miller says patients with a heart pump spend less time in a hospital and have lower hospital costs than patients with severe heart disease. 至于费用，米勒先生说附带心功能泵的病人花在医院的时间较少，并比严重心脏病病人花在医院的费用要少。