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Heart transplant

• Overview
• Recovery
• Risks

Definition:

Heart transplantation is a surgical procedure to remove a damaged or diseased heart and replace it with a healthy donor heart.

Alternative Names:

Cardiac transplant; Transplant - heart

Description:

Heart transplant is one of the most common transplant operations performed in the United States. A healthy heart is obtained from a donor who is brain dead but on life support. The healthy heart is put into a special solution that preserves the organ.

The patient is put into a deep sleep with general anesthesia, and a cut is made through the breast bone. The patient's blood is circulated through a heart-lung bypass machine to keep the blood oxygen-rich. The patient's diseased heart is removed and the donor heart is stitched in place. The heart-lung machine is disconnected. Blood flows through the transplanted heart.

Indications:

A heart transplant may be recommended for heart failure caused by:

• Coronary artery disease
• Cardiomyopathy (disease of the heart muscle)
• Heart valve disease with congestive heart failure
• Severe heart disease present at birth
• Life-threatening abnormal heart beats that do not respond to other therapy

Heart transplant surgery is not recommended for patients who have:

• Kidney, lung, or liver disease
• Insulin-dependent diabetes with poor function of other organs
• Other types of blood vessel disease of the neck and leg
• Other life-threatening diseases

References:

Lee DK. ACC/AHA Guidelines for the Evaluation and Management of Chronic Heart Failure in the Adult Summary for MD Consult Cardiology. MDC Cardiology Guideline Summaries . 2002 Mar;1.

Zipes DP, Libby P, Bonow RO, Braunwald E, eds. Braunwald's Heart Disease: A Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine , 7th ed. St. Louis, Mo; WB Saunders; 2005: 641-651.

• Review Date: 7/25/2007
• Reviewed By: Robert A. Cowles, MD, Assistant Professor of Surgery, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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