On this day, 59 years ago, April 26, 1966 (March 6, 1966, the lunar calendar), an artificial pump was implanted in the heart. On April 26, 1966, after surviving for five days on an implanted heart pump, Marshall-L-Dayroud died in a Houston hospital. Dr. Michael E. Debecky, who implanted the artificial pump, said the cause of the patient's death was lung damage and was not related to the use of a heart pump. But he added that the artificial heart pump would be improved before it was used again. The function of an artificial heart pump is to pump blood through the body instead of the left ventricle. Debaki said when artificial heart pumps become perfect, they could be used to save the lives of 75% of the 900,000 people who die from heart disease in the United States each year.