# Jarvik, you fucking sellout **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 31, 2006, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jarvik-you-fucking-sellout/386234 "2006-12-31T19:40:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Winston\_Smith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e95f7d/32.png) [@Winston\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winston_Smith)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2006, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jarvik-you-fucking-sellout/386234/1 "2006-12-31T19:40:17Z")
Dr. Robert Jarvik is now doing commercials for Lipitor. What a sack of shit. His artificial heart design is a fucking failure, so he’s trying to parlay is miniscule name recognotion to sell drugs. The commercial doesn’t mention that the FDA has banned the Jarvik heart, thus lending an unearned and inappropriate credibility to his name. He should be fucking ashamed of himself. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2006, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jarvik-you-fucking-sellout/386234/2 "2006-12-31T19:43:29Z")
Why is his heart banned? ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2006, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jarvik-you-fucking-sellout/386234/3 "2006-12-31T19:53:57Z")
It’s not. It’s banned _as a permanent solution_ because most patients have died within four to six months, but it can still be used in a patient to tide them over until a transplant can be found. Jarvik was instrumental in the early development of artificial hearts and the progress made to date owes a LOT to him. Why the OP has a bug up his ass about Jarvik, I can’t imagine. ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2006, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jarvik-you-fucking-sellout/386234/4 "2006-12-31T19:57:02Z")
FYI, His wife is the smartest person in the known universe, Marilyn vos Savant. ---
**Author:** ![bobkitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c67d28/32.png) [@bobkitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobkitty)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2006, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jarvik-you-fucking-sellout/386234/5 "2006-12-31T20:00:55Z")
On preview, I’ll just chop out the majority of my lengthy post and say: what **RickJay** said. You’d have to be open to a fairly loose definition of “failure” and “banned” to come to the OP’s conclusion, but the reality is that no one who receives an artificial heart of _any_ design lives very long- the record is 17 months- and prior to the Jarvik 7 those receiving artificial hearts were dead within days. While it certainly wasn’t the solution they anticipated, and while they don’t use it as a permanent installation, the fact remains that it is still in use in some circumstances, and is hardly a failure. If Jarvik wants to shill for the drug companies to support his research into a new heart pump, then more power to him. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2006, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jarvik-you-fucking-sellout/386234/6 "2006-12-31T20:08:50Z")
[QUOTE=Icerigger] FYI, His wife is the smartest person in the known universe, Marilyn vos Savant. [/QUOTE] And where’s the gaggy smilie when you need it? ---
**Author:** ![Winston\_Smith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e95f7d/32.png) [@Winston\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winston_Smith)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2006, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jarvik-you-fucking-sellout/386234/7 "2006-12-31T20:16:48Z")
I’ve got a problem with him using his name recognition to sell drugs, when the actual status ans eficacy of his invention isn’t made clear. ---
**Author:** ![Gukumatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/74df32/32.png) [@Gukumatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gukumatz)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2006, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jarvik-you-fucking-sellout/386234/8 "2006-12-31T20:27:59Z")
[QUOTE=Winston Smith] I’ve got a problem with him using his name recognition to sell drugs, when the actual status ans eficacy of his invention isn’t made clear. [/QUOTE] Can you please transcript the commercial, or give a link to it? I’m having a hard time empathising with your pain if all he says is “Hi, my name is X Jarvik and I endorse this medicine.” I mean, hell, you could change that name for mine for all it actually _means_. However, if he’s actually saying “Hi, I’ve invented great artificial replacements for human hearts (_without implying their temporary status_) and this medicine might as well have been made by me!” then I can, to a certain extent, get behind you in this attack. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2006, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jarvik-you-fucking-sellout/386234/9 "2006-12-31T20:34:28Z")
At least he’s a real doctor, and doesn’t just play one on TV. ---
**Author:** ![Subway\_Prophet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecb155/32.png) [@Subway\_Prophet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Subway_Prophet)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2006, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jarvik-you-fucking-sellout/386234/10 "2006-12-31T20:47:36Z")
[QUOTE=bobkitty] […] the reality is that no one who receives an artificial heart of _any_ design lives very long- the record is 17 months- and prior to the Jarvik 7 those receiving artificial hearts were dead within days. [/QUOTE] Which leads me to ask - do they reuse the still-shiny artificial hearts from the recipients who die so quickly? I mean, those things are _expensive_. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2006, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jarvik-you-fucking-sellout/386234/11 "2006-12-31T21:46:13Z")
[QUOTE=Gukumatz] Can you please transcript the commercial, or give a link to it? I’m having a hard time empathising with your pain if all he says is “Hi, my name is X Jarvik and I endorse this medicine.” I mean, hell, you could change that name for mine for all it actually _means_. [/QUOTE] I found this partial transcript online. > [@](#): > > The average heart beats two billion times. The heart is amazing. But high cholesterol can clog arteries and lead to heart disease. Lipitor can help. When diet and exercise aren’t enough, adding Lipitor significantly lowers bad cholesterol It’s your heart. Ask if Lipitor is right for you. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2006, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jarvik-you-fucking-sellout/386234/12 "2006-12-31T22:05:53Z")
Credibility, sell-out, yada yada yada. The real crime of that commercial is his fucking hair. He’s in a national ad campaign for a pharmaceutical company, and he’s got a near-skullet going on. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2006, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jarvik-you-fucking-sellout/386234/13 "2006-12-31T22:10:09Z")
[QUOTE=bobkitty] If Jarvik wants to shill for the drug companies to support his research into a new heart pump, then more power to him. [/QUOTE] Is it clear that that’s where Jarvik’s compensation is going? ---
**Author:** ![athelas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@athelas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/athelas)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2007, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jarvik-you-fucking-sellout/386234/14 "2007-01-01T01:20:24Z")
In one of the earlier commercials, there’s a narrator (not Jarvik) who said “Dr. Whatsit Jarvick, inventor of the artificial heart.” ---
**Author:** ![wring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@wring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wring)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2007, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jarvik-you-fucking-sellout/386234/15 "2007-01-01T01:27:11Z")
[QUOTE=Marley23] I found this partial transcript online. [/QUOTE] fwiw-I’ve seen the ad, this sounds accurate **however** iirc, there **is** reference to the Jarvick heart, if not audio, at least some typeface - I recognized the name but not why, except for the info inthe ad. ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2007, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jarvik-you-fucking-sellout/386234/16 "2007-01-01T01:28:44Z")
Eh, C. Everett Koop has fallen and he can’t get up, why not some other former well-known doc? ---
**Author:** ![lavenderviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cdc98d/32.png) [@lavenderviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lavenderviolet)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2007, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jarvik-you-fucking-sellout/386234/17 "2007-01-01T02:09:30Z")
I can understand being annoyed by doctors getting involved in crass commercialism, but I guess to me, it doesn’t seem that bad because statin drugs like Lipitor do have a legitimate use in medicine as a valid therapy for people with high cholesterol. I would be far more upset if he were appearing on ads for shady weight loss schemes or penis size enhancers. Incidentally, I’m not sure that it’s fair to judge him just based on the Jarvik-7. It seems that he has been continuing to work on trying to find new technology to help heart failure patients. For example, see this article from 2002 on an LVAD he was working on at the time: [http://www.umm.edu/heart/jarvikQA.html](http://www.umm.edu/heart/jarvikQA.html) Of course, most people in the general public would have no clue what an LVAD is, so there wouldn’t be any point in mentioning that in the ad. However, it doesn’t seem to me like he’s just trying to coast on the limited success of his original artificial heart. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2007, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jarvik-you-fucking-sellout/386234/18 "2007-01-01T06:43:49Z")
[QUOTE=Icerigger] FYI, His wife is the smartest person in the known universe, Marilyn vos Savant. [/QUOTE] Then he should be doing ads for Viagra. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2007, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jarvik-you-fucking-sellout/386234/19 "2007-01-01T07:19:30Z")
I have trouble thinking of inventing something artificial that that can be implanted into a human’s chest and keep that person alive for _months_ as anything but a miraculous achievment. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2007, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jarvik-you-fucking-sellout/386234/20 "2007-01-01T14:04:07Z")
[QUOTE=spooje] I have trouble thinking of inventing something artificial that that can be implanted into a human’s chest and keep that person alive for _months_ as anything but a miraculous achievment. [/QUOTE] Hear, hear! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jarvik-you-fucking-sellout/386234.md?page=2)