Frequently Asked Questions
1. What are the two types of heart transplants?
There are two types of heart transplants.They are:
Orthotopic heart transplants involve removing your diseased heart through an incision in the middle of your chest and replacing your old heart with a donor's heart.
Heterotopic heart transplants involve attaching the donor heart to your old heart.
2. What happens immediately after a heart transplant?
Recovery takes about six to eight weeks for your incisions to heal. Initially, muscle or incision discomfort in the chest during activity is present. Itching, tightness, or numbness along your incision are also normal.
3. What can you not do after a heart transplant?
Avoid strenuous activities such as pushing, pulling or lifting anything heavy for at least 6 to 12 weeks.
4. How long do you have to rest after a heart transplant?
You will usually need to stay in hospital for approximately two weeks after a heart transplant.
5. What can I avoid eating after a heart transplant?
Avoid highly salted foods and high sodium processed foods after heart transplant.
6. How many hours is heart transplant surgery?
A heart transplant is carried out under general anaesthetic and normally it takes between 4 and 6 hours.
7. What complications can arise after a heart transplant?
The complications following heart transplantation are bleeding, infection, breathing problems, kidney failure, failure of the donor's heart, coronary allograft vasculopathy(CAV) and blood clots that can cause heart attack, stroke or lung problems.
8. What is the leading cause of death after heart transplantation?
The most common causes of death in the first 30 days after transplantation are graft failure, multi-organ failure, and infection, with infection, graft failure, and acute rejection being the most common causes of death within one year of transplant.
9. What is the biggest risk of heart transplants?
The rejection of the donor's heart is one of the most common complications of a heart transplant. The immune system recognises the transplanted heart as foreign and attacks it.
10. How long can a child with a heart transplant live?
Infants and children who receive heart transplants have good outcomes and can expect to live for another 15 years with reasonable cardiac function and quality of life.