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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, but overall the survival rate is nearly 90 percent after one year and 72 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 discontinue 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 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.
