Sumter, S.C., resident Sherri Selph was 41 in 1994 when first diagnosed with stage-two congestive heart failure. By 1999, her health was diminishing so rapidly that she was diagnosed with end-stage heart disease, and not expected to live beyond six months.

But thanks to heart-pump technology and her physicians at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), today Selph is not only alive, but is also thought to be the longest-surviving person in the United States - and one of the longest-surviving in the world - to be helped by an LVAD (left ventricular assist device). And best of all, she’s now on the waiting list to receive a real heart.

Each year, more than 700,000 Americans die from advanced heart failure. Heart transplants could save many such fatalities, but only about 2,200 organs are available annually. Selph wanted a new heart in 1999; but as her conditioned worsened, she gained 43 pounds and thus had to be disqualified for the procedure.

Since a heart transplant was not an option at the time, Selph’s doctor in South Carolina suggested she enroll in the Randomized Evaluation of Mechanical Assistance in Congestive Heart Failure (REMATCH) clinical trial.

REMATCH compared two treatment options for congestive heart failure: the traditional medication regimen, versus an implantable heart pump. Of the 22 academic medical centers that participated in the study, none was near Selph’s South Carolina home.

But William Holman, M.D., co-investigator of the REMATCH trial at UAB, offered her a place in the REMATCH trial and a way for it to be geographically feasible for her to participate. On Oct. 29, 1999, Selph received her LVAD.

“After the surgery and several months of recuperation, I was able to return home to South Carolina, and Dr. Holman arranged for me to come to Birmingham on Air LifeLine and Angel Flights every four weeks,” Selph said.

“I would spend five hours in clinic and then fly back home, and I did this for two years,” she continued. “After the trial was finished, my doctor back home could monitor me, and I only came back (to UAB) when I needed a new pump. If it hadn’t been for that, I would not have been able to participate in the trial and I wouldn’t be here today.”

Last July, a considerably lighter Selph met the criteria to be on the waiting list for a heart transplant, and she now waits for a donor.

“Without the help and support of my family, Dr. Holman and UAB, my life would be over. My 9-year-old is now 16 and I have lived to see the birth of two more grandchildren, making eight grandchildren total. My quality of my life has greatly improved. Before the LVAD, I could barley get dressed each day, but now I volunteer at my grandchildren’s school, running the book fairs and Christmas shops. I also help organize skateboard competitions for my 16-year-old. Today, I can do just about everything that I could do before I got heart disease.”

Holman credits Selph’s inner strength as a big part of her success. “Sherri is a remarkable person,” he said. “She has a strong will to live and raise her grandson, Keith. Sherri lost the weight necessary to qualify for a heart transplant.”

Salpy Pamboukian, medical director of the Mechanical Circulatory Support Device (MCSD) program at UAB, said Selph’s success story should inspire other patients with end-stage heart failure to pursue this line of treatment,

“Ventricular assist devices have the ability to extend the life of patients with end-stage heart failure,” she said. “Many patients who have been told that they have no other options and will die have later undergone this surgery and returned to an excellent quality of life. Often patients are referred to us too late and are not strong enough to survive the operation. Hopefully, as word gets out, we will see patients earlier in their disease process, when the heart pump is still an option.”

REMATCH trial sponsors were the National Institutes of Health and Thoratec Corp., a manufacturer of LVAD devices, including the Thoratec Heartmate VE Left Ventricular Assist System used in the study.