Coronary Heart Disease Treatment: 6 Things You Should Know About Heart Transplant

A heart transplant — in which a failing and damaged heart is replaced by a healthy new heart from a donor — becomes the only option in extreme cases of coronary heart disease. 

Doctors will only recommend a heart transplant if the patient’s life is at risk, because their heart no longer works effectively enough to provide sufficient blood to the rest of the body. Patients who undergo a heart transplant have already tried other medicines and surgeries but have not experienced an improvement in their condition.

Here are the six most important things you should know about heart transplants.

1. Heart transplants can be carried out for a number of conditions

Heart transplants are a potential treatment for patients who suffer from severe heart failure that cannot further be treated with currently available medical options. The types of conditions that may require a heart transplant are:

• Coronary heart disease, in which the blood vessels that supply the heart muscle with oxygenated blood are blocked by fatty substances, causing the heart muscles to lack oxygen.
• Cardiomyopathy, a condition in which the muscles of the heart either stretch or become stiff and are no longer able to pump efficiently.
• Congenital heart disease, in which someone is born with a heart condition.

2. Not everyone can have a heart transplant

Before you undergo a heart transplant, you will be subject to multiple, very in-depth assessments to make sure that your body can even handle such a strenuous surgery. You may not be eligible for a heart transplant if:

• You are an older person, as you may not be able to recover from such an intense surgery.
• You have other diseases that can affect your overall survival, such as severe kidney or lung disease.
• You have an active infectious disease.
• You have a recent history of cancer.
• You are not willing to make appropriate choices to keep your heart healthy, such as quitting alcohol and smoking.

If you are found to be eligible to undergo a heart transplant, you will be placed on a waiting list for a new heart.

3. A heart transplant is a very intense procedure

Doctors will carry out a heart transplant as soon as a compatible donor heart becomes available. The patient will be put under general anesthesia. A cut is made in your chest. Your own heart will be taken out, and the donor heart will be connected to your arteries and veins. While the heart transplant carried out, you will be connected to a heart-lung bypass machine which mimics the function of a heart for a short time and will help keep your body circulating with oxygen-rich blood. Once the new heart is appropriately connected to all the arteries and veins, your heart will begin beating normally.

4. Recovering from a heart transplant takes a long time

Most people will find that they need to stay in the hospital for two to three weeks after undergoing a heart transplantation. Furthermore, it will take a few months before patients are able to go back to their normal, everyday activities. The transplant team will sit down with you and help guide you on what types of activities you can and can’t do with your new heart during the recovery stage.

Patients will need to keep coming back for regular check-ups with your doctors and transplant teams. You will also need to be on immunosuppressants that suppress your immune system so it doesn't reject your new heart for the rest of your life. Unless you take these medications, your immune system will start to attack your new heart.

5. There are several risks associated with undergoing heart transplantation

Going through a heart transplantation is very strenuous on the body and it is a risky procedure overall. Several complications can result from undergoing a heart transplantation, including:

• Your immune system starts to recognize the heart as a foreign object and will attack it, causing your body to reject the heart.
• The donor heart does not work properly, which is a problem known as graft failure.
• Your arteries (blood vessels) that supply the heart may start to narrow, which is called cardiac allograft vasculopathy.
• You can experience side effects from using immunosuppressant medication as they make your more likely to get infections, experience weight gain, and have kidney problems.

Fortunately, any of these complications are treatable with modern medicine. However, in rare circumstances, you may need to undergo another heart transplantation.

6. The overall outlook is good for patients who undergo heart transplants

Most people are able to resume their everyday regular activities few months after a heart transplant and will experience a significant improvement in their symptoms over the next years. Studies have shown that 80 to 90 percent of people who get their heart transplant will live for at least a year, 70 to 75 percent will live at least five, years and 50 percent will live at least 10 years. Studies have shown that some people have even survived up to 25 years after undergoing a heart transplant.