The First Implantation of an Artificial Heart in Mexico and Latin America.

A Mexican patient, who is 68 years old received the first artificial heart in Latin America, in a hospital in Mexico City.

Mr. Salvador Perez received his new heart at Mexico City's Hospital de Cardiología, which forms part of the Centro Medico Nacional Siglo XXI complex.

The complex is run under the public Mexican Social Security Institute, a government sponsored health care program.

The patient had been diagnosed with cardiomyophaty insquemia 15 years ago, and his health had been deteriorating since.

Thanks to the implant, the retired engineer, who is affectionately called “Ironman” by his grandchildren, is now living a regular life.

His new artificial heart has a six-hour life and the battery that powers it has to be recharged.

Want to know more? Read about being prepared for an emergency in a foreign country.

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Robert Ervin is a freelancer who writes about healthcare, medical tourism, and living in Mexico.

If you're considering traveling to Mexico for healthcare or retiring in Mexico, you may want to get yourself a copy of The English's Speaker's Guide to Doctors and Hospitals in Mexico, in order to find a good doctor or hospital in the main towns and cities of Mexico, or The English Speaker's Guide to Medical Care in Mexico, to understand how the Mexican healthcare system works.