After a transplant earlier this year, a young British woman gave her heart away...literally. After doctors removed her heart -- damaged by a condition called restrictive cardiomyopathy -- Jennifer Sutton, 23, lent it to the Wellness Collection of central London. It will be on display to help educate the public on the importance of donor organs. Jennifer recently got to see her heart and described the moment as "surreal." I can only imagine. Read more about Jennifer's story and see a picture of her (and her heart!) at BBC News.

I was fascinated to read about the baby boy who survived 120 days on an artificial heart. What an incredible device. Now here comes another news story. Same device, but this time it's about a Canadian teen. Fifteen-year-old Melissa Mills spent 146 days connected to her artificial heart. During that time she and her family were waiting for a transplant opportunity. Like the UK baby, however, her heart healed itself and she's now doing just fine - no surgery required! "For sure it's a miracle," one heart specialist was quoted as saying.

Even a few years ago, it would have been considered just about impossible for someone like Melissa to survive without a heart transplant. Indeed, it was not altogether certain Melissa would survive her illness, and her parents were told to prepare for that possibility. This particular device, also called a "Berlin Heart," is what's made the difference in both this and the UK baby case.

The Berlin Heart was designed especially for children, with the intention of keeping sick children alive during long and harrowing waits for heart transplants. However, cardiologists have been delighted to find that hooking a child up to the Berlin Heart not only keeps the child alive, but also gives the heart a chance to rest and repair itself. Heart cured. Wow.

Click here to read the full story on CTV's website and to view a photo of Melissa holding her artificial heart.

British baby Jack Vellam (13 months) went home from the hospital recently after an astounding 120 days on an artificial heart. Apparently, it was a record-breaking stay: that is the longest anyone so young has stayed on an artificial heart.

Five months ago, Jack was diagnosed with myocarditis - inflammation of the heart muscle. He had fallen ill suddenly and suffered a heart attack, then spent several days in intensive care. He became so ill that his mother agreed with doctors' recommendation that his life-support machine be turned off. "It was a heart-breaking ordeal for all of us," said his mom Danielle.

Then the docs unexpectedly came up with another option: a transplant, if a donor heart could be found. The parents reluctantly agreed, feeling they should give their little one a chance at life. That's when the artificial heart came in. Jack's artificial heart consisted of a pump (the "heart") outside of his body, connected to him via four tubes in the chest.

At that point, however, the myocarditis was discovered and the parents were informed that Jack might recover without a transplant. And, happily, that's what happened. Eventually, Jack underwent surgery (risky in and of itself) to disconnect him from the artificial heart. Said an elated pediatric cardiologist who helped save Jack's life: "This is the best of days for us; this is what we work for."

Peter Houghton has an artificial heart, and although he's grateful for the technology that saved his life he's sad for what he lost: the ability to experience emotions the same way he used to.

He's the first person to receive a permanent transplant of the Jarvik 2000 left ventricular assist device, and he's really struggled with the reality of living with it for the rest of his life. Among other issues like facing depression, he finds himself more logical and less intuitive than he used to be. He's less interested in forming relationships and emotional bonds with those around him (such as his two grandchildren) and he doesn't know what to do about it.

In short, Peter Houghton is a cyborg -- and he feels like one. Unfortunately he's alone in that there is little known about how artificial hearts affect the human body and the human experience. He's coming to better terms with it everyday, although it's not easy. In his words: "Better than being dead, I think. Three days out of five."

How sad.

The American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology recently refined treatment guidelines for patients who present with chest pain or who suffer a heart attack. The new guidelines clarify treatments for high risk and low risk patients and bring attention to the fact that low-risk patients who suffer chest pain or non-ST myocardial infarction need further testing and treatment to lower their risk of future heart attack. In addition to a stress test and echo-cardiogram, low risk patients may also be prescribed ACE inhibitors and get education on lifestyle changes to prevent further attacks. Recommendations for high risk patients continue to include intervention such as stents and medication. To learn more about the symptoms of a heart attack, visit the AHA's website to read more.

If you've heard of the 'pulmonary artery catheter' then you may be interested to know that it's slowly falling out of favor with medical professionals. The pulmonary artery catheter was once a very popular way of monitoring cardiac function, and worked by inserting a small catheter into a lung artery to get a reading on heart output and blood pressure. In recent years, however, its use has sharply declined by 68% since 1993. Why? Simply because numerous studies have shown the device and procedure to be somewhat ineffective, and we now have so much better and less intrusive ways of getting the same information.

Out with the old, in with the new!

A new patch containing a naturally occurring compound called periostin was recently tested in rats and was successful in creating new heart muscle cells, called cardiomyocytes. This is a spectacular feat, according to researchers, because heart muscle, once damaged, does not regenerate. But in rats with damaged hearts, the patch improved heart function and increased the number of these types of cells.

Periostin is found in the human body and the compound helps encourage cardiomyocytes to divide. Researchers hope that this finding may one day lead to a treatment that can help patients on heart transplant lists improve heart function enough that they can be taken off the list. Read more about the study and findings here.

Should you have angioplasty? That decision lies between you and your doctor, but according to this article, drugs may work as well as the popular procedure at unblocking clogged arteries. In fact, angioplasty is one of five surgeries the author thinks most people should avoid. Others include hysterectomy, lower back surgery, and heartburn surgery. Instead, the author suggests non-surgical alternatives that may work as well or better than surgery.

The angioplasty vs. drug debate is one that's been in the headlines for a while, and a quick Google search turns up enough conflicting findings to make a person's head spin. But before you go under the knife for any procedure, it's worth your time to investigate alternatives and make sure you're making the best choice for your health, whatever that decision may be.

Sometimes I cluck in dismay when I'm at the supermarket and see the self-serve check-outs. I mean, they're convenient and all but it sometimes seem like we're destined to become the robot society that was made light of in the 60s. How long until everything is run by computers?

But when it comes to surgery--where the steadiness of a surgeons hand is a matter of life and death--the use of robotic arms to treat patients with atrial fibrillation (abnormal heartbeat) shows promise. So far, 20 operations have been performed on patients in Britain, and each has been highly successful. So while the momentum that technology is gaining can sometimes be frightening, it's also really exciting what the future can hold for us.

In a handful of states it's now possible to access death rates and quality assessments of heart surgeons and hospitals where heart surgery is performed. Pennsylvania is one such area, and The Philadelphia Inquirer recently took a look at how this is impacting the surgeons themselves. So, what's the view like from the other end of the stethoscope? Will the possibility of public scrutiny encourage talented surgeons to base their careers elsewhere?

The Inquirer profiles one surgeon who has just moved back to Pennsylvania from Virginia, and who did so knowing that his patient outcomes records would be on the table for all to see. His conclusion? He definitely took this openness into consideration in deciding whether or not to relocate. But he also feels the data helped him assess the quality of care at the hospital at which he now works before making a decision to move.

If you were undergoing heart surgery would you want to know your surgeon's track record beforehand? I would. Attitudes towards medical professionals have changed a lot in the past generation or two. Who, in this day and age, would not consider it a given that some surgeons are stellar while others are maybe less so? And who could blame you for wanting to make sure your own surgeon was one of the stellar ones?

Consider the down-side first, however. The data can be misleading and could lead patients to form unduly positive or negative opinions of hospitals or surgeons. Example: some heart surgeons specialize in the really high-risk patients that others can't or won't treat. The fact is that those surgeons are therefore likely to accumulate higher patient mortality rates, yet this is most definitely not a reflection on their surgical skills. Bottom line: you have to do your homework.

You've been diagnosed with a heart problem. You have a lot of questions but you can't seem to get your head around this, this thing that's just been dropped on you like bomb.

You probably feel very alone but believe it or not, situations like this are pretty common so WebMD has come up with this handy list of things you should ask your doctor about your heart condition. You need to know the facts, what can be done and where you'll end up on this roller coaster of life--and you might not know which questions to ask. Either that or you're too overwhelmed to think it through. You can even print the list out and take it to your doctor.

If you've gone through this before, what information did you find the most useful?

I can't begin to imagine what this looks like in action. A new machine keeps donor hearts beating on their own for up to 24 hours. The extra time allows the organ to be flown anywhere in the country to a patient who needs it, and eliminates the conventional 6 hour time limit. Some hearts, according to the article, get damaged by the ice that hearts are now placed on, and others aren't strong enough to survive the wait until transplant, but by keeping a heart beating that kind of damage could be eliminated.

Three hearts preserved in the machine have been successfully transplanted into recipients, and the machine will be tested at five transplant centers around the country. Medical technology is a marvel, isn't it?

Before there were stents, angioplasty (without stents) and drugs were the two main weapons used to prevent a second heart attack. A small study in Switzerland found that when comparing groups of symptom-free heart attack survivors who were treated with angioplasty and drugs vs. intensive drug therapy alone found that those in the angioplasty group suffered fewer second heart attacks.

But the American Heart Association isn't convinced. Calling the study "intriguing," an AHA spokesperson said the study was too small to be conclusive. In addition, because the patients in the study were treated over a decade ago, it doesn't take into account the advancements made in both types of therapy, as well as the addition of stents. A larger study that uses the latest technology in both types of therapy is the next step to find out if the Switzerland study's findings should be applied to today's heart patients.

For any parent who has heard the following string of words, "Is there a history of congenital heart defects in your family?" life is never quite the same after those words are uttered. Life is never again taken 100% for granted. The joys of childhood are held dear for just a moment or two longer because once your universe is shaken to its core, those moments are needed for processing.

One mother who has been struggling with such issues is Emily Elizabeth. Her young son, Gabriel, was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect when he was a just a day old. Today he will be undergoing his second heart surgery in under a year. Gabriel's first surgery was a success but in November 2006 his family was informed he would need another procedure due to growing scar tissue.

To withstand one heart surgery on your small child is beyond excruciating, but to undergo another opens so many old wounds and fears. Gabriel's mother has designed a beautiful button to download and paste on blogs. It is a gentle reminder that nothing can be taken for granted and that there needs to be much love and hope. Go check it out and download it.

Heart health is a subject I took entirely for granted until about 2 1/2 years ago. At just four weeks my youngest son, Devon, was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect and needed immediate surgery to ensure his survival. This episode gave me pause for thought. Then nearly a year ago, my seemingly healthy father died of heart failure while riding his beloved mountain bike.

My name is Heather Craven. I stopped writing for The Cardio Blog last summer after we lost my father, but I am more than happy to be back and again writing about cardio health. It is a subject that so many of us take for granted. And why not? We wake up in the morning and our hearts are beating. We go to bed at night and our hearts continue to thump our life source to our limbs. But in the moment of a breath or the span of a doctor's visit, this attitude can forever change. I come from a long line of hereditary heart disease. I have three children who I hope grow up to lead productive lives with healthy hearts beating in their chests.

The Cardio Blog is a wonderful opportunity to share information and learn more about this all too important topic. I am honored to be back and writing here. I look forward to bringing you informative posts and to hearing your comments.