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Definition
By Mayo Clinic staffA heart transplant is an operation in which a failing, diseased heart is replaced with a healthier, donor heart. Heart transplant is a treatment that's usually reserved for people who have tried medications or other surgeries, but their conditions haven't improved sufficiently.
While a heart transplant is a major operation, medical technology has improved greatly since the first heart transplant in 1967, and your chance of survival is higher than ever.
When faced with a decision about having a heart transplant, know what to expect of the heart transplant process, the surgery itself, potential risks and follow-up care.
- Heart transplant. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/ht/ht_all.html. Accessed Oct. 29, 2008.
- Colucci WS, et al. Indications and contraindications for cardiac transplantation. http://www.uptodate.com/index. Accessed Oct. 27, 2008.
- Hunt SA. Taking heart — Cardiac transplantation past, present, and future. New England Journal of Medicine. 2006;355:231.
- Taylor DO, et al. Registry of the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation: Twenty-fourth official adult heart transplant report — 2007. Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation. 2007;26:769.
- Jurt U, et al. Heart transplant: What to expect. Circulation. 2002;106:1750.
- Anderson AS. Prognosis after cardiac transplantation. http://www.uptodate.com/index. Accessed Oct. 27, 2008.
- Pina IL. Rehabilitation after cardiac transplantation. http://www.uptodate.com/index. Accessed Oct. 27, 2008.
- Left ventricular assist device. American Heart Association. http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4599. Accessed Oct. 29, 2008.
