Details of Heart Transplant

A heart transplant is an operation in which a diseased, failing heart is replaced with a healthier donor heart.

May include:

1. Coronary heart disease
2. Congestive Heart Failure

May include:

• A weakening of the heart muscle (cardiomyopathy)
• Coronary artery disease
• Heart valve disease
• Congenital heart defect
• Abnormal heart rhythms not controlled by other treatments
• Failure of a previous heart transplant

• X-rays
• Ultrasound scans
• CT scans

After giving general anaesthesia, an incision is made on the chest to separate the chest and to open the rib cage to perform the procedure. Then, the surgeon removes the diseased heart and stitches the donor heart into place. Now major blood vessels are attached to the donor heart. After this this the new heart starts beating when blood flow is restored but sometimes an electric short is required for the same purpose.

May include:

• Rejection of the donor heart
• Primary graft failure
• Problems with your arteries
• Medication side effects
• Cancer
• Infection