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Results
By Mayo Clinic staffMost people who receive a heart transplant enjoy a high quality of life. They can return to work within three to six months of a heart transplant and have few activity restrictions.
Recipient survival rates vary based on a number of factors. For example, in the U.S. the overall survival rate is nearly 90 percent after one year and 74 percent after five years.
What if your new heart fails?
Heart transplants aren't successful for everyone. Your new heart may fail because of organ rejection or because of the development of valvular heart disease or coronary artery disease. Should this happen, your doctor may recommend adjusting your medications or in more extreme cases, another heart transplant.
In some cases, additional treatment options are limited and you may choose to stop treatment. Discussions with your heart transplant team, physician and family should address your expectations and preferences for treatment, emergency care and end-of-life care.
- Heart transplant. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/ht/ht_all.html. Accessed Aug. 30, 2010.
- Colucci WS, et al. Indications and contraindications for cardiac transplantation. http://www.uptodate.com/index. Accessed Aug. 30, 2010.
- Heart transplantation in the United States, 1998-2007. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. http://www.ustransplant.org/annual_reports/current/chapter_v_forprint.pdf. Accessed Aug. 27, 2010.
- Jessup M, et al. 2009 Focused update: ACCF/AHA guidelines for the diagnosis and management of heart failure in adults. Circulation. 2009;119:1977.
- Ventricular assist device. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/vad/vad_all.html. Accessed Aug. 30, 2010.
- Anderson AS. Prognosis after cardiac transplantation. http://www.uptodate.com/index. Accessed Aug. 27, 2010.
- Pina IL. Rehabilitation after cardiac transplantation. http://www.uptodate.com/index. Accessed Aug. 27, 2010.
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