Definition of Heart transplant:

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