What Is a Heart Transplant?
A heart transplant is an operation in which the
diseased heart in a person is replaced with a healthy heart from a deceased
donor. Ninety percent of heart transplants are performed on patients with
end-stage
heart
failure.
Heart failure is a condition in which the heart is
damaged or weakened and can't pump enough blood to meet the body's needs.
"End-stage" means the condition has become so severe that all treatments, other
than heart transplant, have failed.
Overview
Heart transplants are done as a life-saving measure
for end-stage heart failure when medical treatment and less drastic surgery
have failed. Because donor hearts are in short supply, patients who need a
heart transplant go through a careful selection process. They need to be sick
enough to need a new heart, yet healthy enough to receive it.
Survival rates for people receiving a heart
transplant have improved over the past 5 to 10 yearsespecially in the
first year after the transplant. About 88 percent of patients survive the first
year after transplant surgery, and 72 percent survive for 5 years. The
10-year survival rate is close to 50 percent, and 16 percent of heart
transplant patients survive 20 years.
After the surgery, most heart transplant recipients
(about 90 percent) can come close to resuming their normal daily activities.
However, fewer than 40 percent return to work for many different reasons.
The Heart Transplant Process
The heart transplant process starts when doctors
refer patients with end-stage heart failure to a heart transplant center for
evaluation. Patients found to be eligible for a heart transplant are placed on
a waiting list for a donor heart.
Heart transplant surgery is done in a hospital when
a suitable donor heart is found. After the transplant, patients are started on
a lifelong health care plan involving multiple medicines and frequent medical
monitoring.
September 2008 |