It’s easy to forget to re-charge our cell phones, or iPads, but what if your life relied on a battery? For one patient at the Mayo Clinic, his lifeline is a plastic, rechargeable heart. Alvin Carter carries around this backpack at all times…Carter was diagnosed with a disease called amyloidosis two months ago, a condition that damages the heart through protein build-up. “It just sort of fractured as we cut across it,” said Mayo Clinic Cardiovascular Surgeon Dr. Lyle Joyce. “It was just crunchy.”

WCCO by Aristea Brady

Tags: Amyloidosis, Artificial Heart, Cardiology, Dr. Lyle Joyce, Technology, WCCO