According to a CNN news article, a warning was announced by the CDC, or Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, stating that heart surgery patients are at risk for contracting deadly heart surgery infections.

Since 2012, patients have been at an increased risk for contracting deadly and life-threatening heart surgery infections during their open-heart surgeries. They claim that the life-threatening heart surgery infections are linked to a medical device used during these operations.

Accordingly, the patients are at risk of contracting the bacterial species known as nontuberculous mycobacterium, or NTM. These patients are at an increased risk of contracting the bacteria during the valve implant or prosthetic product implant procedure.

CNN and the CDC further report that roughly 600,000 patients are at risk for the bacterial infection due to the alleged number of surgeries performed in the last four years.

Additionally, CNN and the CDC report that at least 28 patients who have undergone a recent heart surgery procedure have contracted the heart surgery infections. Moreover, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) report of 12- patient confirmed deaths, worldwide, as a result.

However, although the news is upsetting, Dr. Vinod Thourani, the co-chair of the American College of Cardiology’s surgeon’s council, says that the news should not raise immediate concern. “The overall risk is exceedingly low,” he assures. And according to CNN, “the CDC estimates that in hospitals where at least one infection has been identified, the risk of a patient getting an infection from the bacteria is between about one in 100 and one in 1,000.”

The source of the bacteria is allegedly the Stockert 3T heater-cooler device. In response, the FDA has announced an ongoing investigation of nontuberculous mycobacteria infections that are linked with the heater-cooler device.

The heater cooler unit works by storing water in a tank, which can either increase or decrease a patient’s body temperature. It works by keeping the water at a certain temperature.

However, if the water in the tank in improperly cleaned out or not cleaned out at all, it becomes contaminated. This contamination then results in the contraction of the bacterial strain as the bacteria then colonizes the machine. This may lead to bacterial infections contracted during open heart surgeries.

According to the FDA, a heater-cooler device is used during these cardiothoracic surgeries and other surgical and medical procedures to either cool or warm a patient and “improve patient outcomes.” And although the patient never comes in direct contact with the water in the circuits of the heater-cooler device, the bacteria becomes transmitted in the air through the device’s exhaust vent.

The FDA maintains, “through the FDA’s analysis of adverse event reports, the medical literature, and information from national and international public health agencies, we are aware that the use of heater-cooler devices has been associated with Nontuberculous Mycobacteria (NTM) infections, primarily in patients undergoing cardiothoracic surgical procedures.”