A new kind of heart pump greatly improves the survival of people with severe heart failure. There are chances of it becoming the first one of these devices to be widely used as a permanent treatment.

This device is implanted close to a patient's own heart and assists in its pumping. It is called HeartMate II.

It is compared to an older pump which is now used just for very short periods only to help people be alive till the heart transplant is completed.

Researchers said after a study that advanced heart failure patients who were given Thoratec Corp's new pump awaiting U. S. approval as an alternative to heart transplants lived longer and fared far better than those getting the company's older HeartMate XVE device.

Investors had been hoping for a two-year survival rate of more than 60 percent or more. This probably led to Thoratec shares to fall down by one percent.

Resaerchers also said that the results for Thoratec's next-generation HeartMate II unit could prompt twice as many patients who do not have access to heart transplants to use the left ventricular assist devices as a life-extending option.

The LVAD device is only one-seventh the size of the older model and far quieter. It is implanted next to the patient's weakened heart.

The new device pushes blood in a continuous stream and is meant to be more durable because it only has one moving part.

The main objective of the trial was survival without experiencing any stroke or device failure requiring another surgery within just two years.

The biggest drawback attached to this device is the hefty price tag. The device costs $80,000 with an added $45,000 for surgery and hospital stay to implant it.