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Summary

A heart transplant removes a damaged or diseased heart and replaces it with a healthy one. The healthy heart comes from a donor who has died. It is the last resort for people with heart failure when all other treatments have failed. The heart failure might have been caused by coronary heart disease, damaged heart valves or heart muscles, congenital heart defects, or viral infections of the heart.

Although heart transplant surgery is a life-saving measure, it has many risks. Careful monitoring, treatment, and regular medical care can prevent or help manage some of these risks.

After the surgery, most heart transplant patients can return to their normal levels of activity. However, fewer than 30% return to work for many different reasons.

NIH: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Start Here

• Getting a New Heart (American Society of Transplantation) - PDF
• Heart Treatments (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) Also in Spanish

Living With

• Cardiac Rehabilitation: MedlinePlus Health Topic (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish

Related Issues

• About the Operation: Heart Transplant (United Network for Organ Sharing)
• Ventricular Assist Devices (VADS) (Texas Heart Institute) Also in Spanish
• What Is a Total Artificial Heart? (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) Also in Spanish

Images

• Heart transplant - series (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Heart-lung transplant - series (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish

Statistics and Research

• The SRTR/OPTN Annual Data Report (Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients)

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Heart Transplantation (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Biopsychosocial Effects of Donor Traits on Heart Transplant Recipients.
• Article: Unveiling the Psychosocial Impact: Pediatric Organ Transplantation and Posttraumatic Stress Disorders:...
• Article: Clinical Features and Outcomes of Pediatric MYH7-Related Dilated Cardiomyopathy.
• Heart Transplantation -- see more articles

Reference Desk

• Heart Anatomy (Texas Heart Institute) Also in Spanish
• How the Heart Works (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) Also in Spanish

Find an Expert

• American Heart Association
• National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
• Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (Health Resources and Services Administration)

Children

• Ventricular Assist Device (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Patient Handouts

• Heart transplant (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish