From innovating everyday life-saving techniques to redefining heart surgery, University of Arizona researchers have transformed cardiovascular care. Pioneering chest-compression-only CPR, the Sarver Heart Center made it easier and more effective for bystanders to act during cardiac arrest, no mouth-to-mouth necessary. A few years later, U of A surgeons developed the first FDA-approved total artificial heart, giving patients a second chance at life. That breakthrough was decades in the making, built on research and refinement that began at the University of Arizona in the 1980s.