As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 18, 2014

Registration No. 333-       

UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM S-8

REGISTRATION STATEMENT
UNDER
THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

SUNSHINE HEART, INC.

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

Sunshine Heart, Inc. Second Amended and Restated 2011 Equity Incentive Plan

Sunshine Heart, Inc. 2013 Non-Employee Directors’ Equity Incentive Plan

Sunshine Heart, Inc. New-Hire Equity Incentive Plan

(Full title of the plan)

David A. Rosa

Chief Executive Officer

Sunshine Heart, Inc.

12988 Valley View Road

Eden Prairie, MN 55344

(952) 345-4200

(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number,
including area code, of agent for service)

Copy to:

Phillip D. Torrence, Esq.

Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn LLP

350 East Michigan Avenue, Suite 300

Kalamazoo, MI 49007

(269) 337-7702

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check One):

Large accelerated filer  o    Accelerated filer  o

Non-accelerated filer  o  (Do not check if a smaller reporting company)    Smaller reporting company  x

CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This Registration Statement on Form S-8 is being filed for the purpose of registering an additional (i) 806,654 shares reserved for future grant pursuant to the Registrant’s Second Amended and Restated 2011 Equity Incentive Plan, (ii) 108,982 shares reserved for future grant pursuant to the Registrant’s 2013 Non-Employee Directors’ Equity Incentive Plan and (iii) 281,007 shares reserved for future grant pursuant to the Registrant’s New-Hire Equity Incentive Plan.

INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE OF CONTENTS OF

REGISTRATION STATEMENTS ON FORM S-8

The contents of the Registration Statements on Form S-8 previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) on September 14, 2012 (File No. 333-183925), May 30, 2013 (File No. 333-188935) and August 9, 2013 (File No. 333-190499) are incorporated by reference herein.

PART II

INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

Item 3.           Incorporation of Documents By Reference.

The following documents filed with the Commission by the Registrant are hereby incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement:

(a)               The Registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013, filed with the Commission on March 14, 2014;

(b)               The information specifically incorporated by reference into our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013 from our definitive Proxy Statement for the Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be held on May 29, 2014, to be filed with the Commission within 120 days after the end of the fiscal year covered by the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013;

(c)                The description of the Registrant’s Common Stock contained in the Registration Statement on Form 10 (Registration No. 001-35312) filed pursuant to Section 12(b) on September 30, 2011 and all amendments thereto; and

(d)               The description of the Registrant’s Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock, par value $0.0001 per share, in the Registration Statement on Form 8-A (Registration No. 001-35312) filed with the Commission on June 14, 2013.

In addition, all documents the Registrant subsequently files pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act after the filing of this Registration Statement and prior to the filing of a post-effective amendment which indicates that all securities offered hereby have been sold or which deregisters all securities covered hereby then remaining unsold are incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement and are a part hereof from the date of filing of such documents.

Any statement contained in a document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference herein shall be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this Registration Statement to the extent that a statement contained herein, or in any subsequently filed document, which also is or is deemed to be incorporated by reference herein, modifies or supersedes such prior statement. Any such statement so modified or superseded shall not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to constitute part of this Registration Statement.

Item 8.           Exhibits.

The Exhibit Index attached to this Registration Statement is incorporated herein by reference.

1

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the Registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Eden Prairie, State of Minnesota, on March 18, 2014.

We, the undersigned officers and directors of Sunshine Heart, Inc., hereby constitute David A. Rosa and Jeffrey S. Mathiesen, as the true and lawful attorneys with full power to them, and each of them singly to sign for us and in our names, in the capacities indicated below the Registration Statement filed herewith and any amendments to said Registration Statement, and generally to do all such things in our name and behalf in our capacities as officers and directors to enable Sunshine Heart, Inc. to comply with the provisions of the Securities Act of 1933 and all requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission, hereby ratifying and confirming our signatures as they may be signed by our said attorneys, or any of them, to said Registration Statement and any and all amendments thereto.  Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this Registration Statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

2

EXHIBIT INDEX

3

4

Exhibit 5.1

March 18, 2014

Sunshine Heart, Inc.

12988 Valley View Road

Eden Prairie, MN 55344

RE:  Registration Statement on Form S-8

Ladies and Gentlemen:

We have acted as counsel to Sunshine Heart, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), in connection with the preparation and filing of a Registration Statement on Form S-8 (the “Registration Statement”) with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) for the registration under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), of up to 1,196,643 shares of the Company’s Common Stock, $0.0001 par value per share (the “Shares”), to be issued pursuant to awards under the Company’s Second Amended and Restated 2011 Equity Incentive Plan, 2013 Non-Employee Directors’ Equity Incentive Plan and New-Hire Equity Incentive Plan (collectively, the “Plans”).

Based on our examination of such documents and other matters as we deem relevant, we are of the opinion that the Shares, when offered, sold and issued by the Company in accordance with the applicable Plans and the awards thereunder, the Registration Statement and the related Prospectuses, will be validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable.

We consent to the filing of this opinion as an exhibit to the Registration Statement.  In giving such consent, we do not hereby admit that we come within the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Securities Act or the rules and regulations of the Commission under the Securities Act.

350 East Michigan Avenue · Suite 300 · Kalamazoo, Michigan 49007-3800

Detroit · Lansing · Oakland County · Ann Arbor · Kalamazoo

Exhibit 23.1

CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

We consent to the incorporation by reference in this Registration Statement on Form S-8 pertaining to the Sunshine Heart, Inc. Second Amended and Restated 2011 Equity Incentive Plan, Sunshine Heart, Inc. 2013 Non-Employee Directors’ Equity Incentive Plan, and Sunshine Heart, Inc. New-Hire Equity Incentive Plan, with respect to the consolidated financial statements of Sunshine Heart, Inc. and subsidiaries included in its Annual Report (Form 10-K) for the year ended December 31, 2013 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

March 18, 2014