The numbers are staggering. An estimated 5-million Americans are affected by congestive heart failure, with nearly 500,000 cases diagnosed each year. But an innovative device is pumping new life into heart patients. And a local hospital has been given the green light to offer this revolutionary procedure.

Cardiovascular Disease is said to be the number one killer in the country. Arkansas heart patients, whose prognosis, is grim, now have new hope with the new Heartmate II device.

(Chuck Simons) "Now I look like I'm ready to go home."

The way Chuck Simons strolls hospital halls, you'd never know the harrowing journey he had to get here. At age 49, the Hot Springs resident diagnosed with something he never expected.

(Chuck Simons, Hot Springs) "Surprise, complete surprise.  I've always been somebody who went as much as I wanted to, worked hard, never had any real health problems."

In February, the gut-wrenching news. He went to the doctor for what he thought was routine

(Simons) "He came back out and said, it's a lot worst than what a chest cold is."

(Dr. John Ransom, Surgical Dir. Transplant Services, BHMC) "He developed end-stage heart failure, such that he'd gone through the regular treatment or medical therapy which was unsuccessful.  His heart continued to fail and he was listed for a transplant."

(Karen Simons, Chuck's wife) "He couldn't catch his breath, he couldn't walk from here to the door.  Those are all things we take for granted. He continued to get worse, such that we had to put him in intensive care and put him on two IV medications to support his heart and still we had a period where we thought we were going to lose him."

So ransom recommended Simons undergo a ground-breaking new treatment that could do the work for his damaged heart while he waited for a new one.

(Karen Simons) "We elected to go ahead and implant the Heartmate II"

An upgrade from the Heartmate I, that could one day be used as, what medical experts refer to: Destination Therapy, it's currently being tested for long term use.

(Ransom) "It's a tremendous advance available to everyone in cardiac support. It can pump normal cardiac output or totally replace the output of the left side of the heart. The new device is much smaller, 2-3 inches in length and 1-2 inches in diameter.  It's electrically driven and has a very small drive line that supplies electricity."

(Simons) "I'm convinced had it not been for the Heartmate II, I would have been, I either wouldn't be here, although, I know these doctors well enough to know that they would have done everything to keep me here, but I don't think I would have been in near as good a shape.  As soon as I woke up enough to understand what was going on, I felt better. The other device was so much larger.  It was difficult to implant without patients feeling the size of the device."

Shortly after the first small miracle, Simons had another, just 4 weeks after receiving Heartmate II, Simons was told a donor "heart" was available.

(Simons) "It's a very special family that can take and make that decision."

He elected to have the transplant and is now heading home to make the most of his new lease on life, with his wife at his side.

(Simons)"We'd like to end those plans sitting on a porch swing, holding hands, 90-years old.  Then something like this pops up and those plans go away, then with gifts like this, they come back."

(Karen Simons) "For us it's a gift to have him back.  It's just truly a blessing for his family, his friends, his colleagues, future grandchildren, all the things we want to do."

Heartmate II had been FDA approved for 6-8 weekdays before Baptist did its first procedure. Testing underway now to see if it could someday replace transplants altogether. Baptist Health, by the way, offers the only adult heart transplant program in the state.