What To Expect After Total Artificial Heart Surgery

Recovery in the Hospital

Recovery time after total artificial heart (TAH) surgery depends a lot on your condition before the surgery.

If you had severe heart failure for a while before getting the TAH, your body may be weak and your lungs may not work very well. Thus, you may still need a ventilator (a machine that helps you breathe) after surgery. You also may need to continue getting nutrition through a feeding tube.

Your hospital stay could last a month or longer after TAH surgery.

Right after surgery, you'll be in the hospital's intensive care unit. An intravenous (IV) line will be inserted into a vein in your arm to give you fluids and nutrition. You’ll also have a tube in your bladder to drain urine.

After a few days or more, depending on how quickly your body recovers, you'll move to a regular hospital room. Nurses who have experience with TAHs and similar devices will take care of you.

The nurses will help you get out of bed, sit, and walk around. As you get stronger, you'll be able to go to the bathroom and have a regular diet. The feeding and urine tubes will be removed. You'll also be able to take a shower. You'll learn how to do this while taking care of your TAH device.

Nurses and physical therapists will help you gain your strength through a slow increase in activity. You'll also learn how to care for your TAH device at home.

Having family or friends visit you at the hospital can be very helpful. They can help you with various activities. They also can learn about caring for the TAH device so they can help when you go home.

Going Home

Activity Level

When you go home after TAH surgery, you'll likely be able to do more activities than you could before. You'll probably be able to get out of bed, get dressed, and move around the house. You may even be able to drive. Your health care team will advise you on the level of activity that's right for you.

Bathing

If you have an AbioCor TAH, you can shower or swim, as long as the device is charged.

If you have a CardioWest TAH, you will have tubes connected to a power source outside of your body. The tubes go through an opening in your skin. This opening can let in bacteria and increase your risk for infections.

You will need to take special steps before you bathe to make sure the tubes going through your abdomen don't get wet. Your health care team will explain how to do this.

Caring for the TAH

If you have an AbioCor TAH, you'll need to keep it charged with its magnetic charger. When it's charged, you can do activities that feel comfortable to you (as your doctor advises).

If you have a CardioWest TAH, it will be attached to an external power source, or driver. The driver is portable, so you can walk around and do activities with it.

Nutrition and Exercise

While you recover from TAH surgery, it's very important to get good nutrition. Talk to your health care team about following a proper eating plan for recovery.

Your health care team may recommend a supervised exercise program. Exercise is very important to give your body the strength it needs to recover.

During the months or years when your heart wasn't working well (before surgery), the muscles in your body weakened. Building up the muscles again will allow you to do more activities and feel less tired.

Ongoing Care

You'll have regular appointments with your health care team. The team will want to check your progress and make sure your TAH is working properly.

If you have an AbioCor TAH, your health care team can check it remotely. This means that if you think something is wrong, you can hook up the device to a computer with Internet access.

The computer will transfer data to your health care team so they can see how your TAH is working. Certain problems may require you to see your doctor to have them fixed.

The CardioWest TAH can't be checked remotely.

With both types of TAH, your health care team will explain warning signs. If these signs occur, or if you start feeling sick, you'll need to see your doctor right away.

Cardiac Rehab

Your health care team may recommend cardiac rehabilitation (rehab). This is a medically supervised program that helps improve the health and well-being of people who have heart problems.

Rehab programs include exercise training, education on heart healthy living, and counseling to reduce stress and help you return to a more active life.

Medicines

You will need to take medicine to prevent dangerous blood clots for as long as you have a TAH. Regular blood tests will show whether the medicine is working.

You also will need to take medicine to try to prevent infections. Your doctor may ask you to take your temperature every day to make sure you don't have a fever. Fever can be a warning sign of infection.

Make sure to take all your medicines as prescribed and report any side effects to your doctor.

Heart Transplant

If you're on the waiting list for a heart transplant, you'll likely be in close contact with the transplant center. This is because most donor hearts must be transplanted within 4 hours after removal from the donor.

Some heart transplant centers give you a pager so the center can contact you at any time. You need to be prepared to arrive at the hospital within 2 hours of being notified about a donor heart.

Emotional Issues

Getting a TAH may cause fear, anxiety, and stress. If you're waiting for a heart transplant, you may worry that the TAH won't keep you alive long enough to get a new heart. You may feel overwhelmed or depressed.

All of these feelings are normal for someone going through major heart surgery. It's important to talk about how you feel with your health care team. Talking to a professional counselor also can help. If you're feeling very depressed, your health care team or counselor may prescribe medicines to make you feel better.

Support from family and friends also can help relieve stress and anxiety. Let your loved ones know how you feel and what they can do to help you.