Facts About Heart Transplant

Heart transplant surgeries are a life-saving procedure for several people these days. People with diseased or weak hearts can lead a life like normal people. Their hearts can normally work after the transplantation.

In this procedure, the patient’s damaged heart is substituted with the donor’s healthy heart. The donor can either be a dead person or a patient whose brain is dead. You, of course, require their family’s consent to get the heart.

It is not a small surgery. A lot of things come around with it. That is why people have many myths and curiosities.

So, to quench your thirst for curiosities, we have brought the eight most important things that you must know about heart transplants.

Age is no barrier for heart transplants

There is no such age limit for a heart transplant. Even young children might suffer from a diseased heart and require heart transplantation. People in their old age, like the ’70s or ’80s, also get this surgery. Like the people in their twenties or thirties, the younger generation has also gone through heart transplant surgery. So there are no specific age criteria for heart transplantation.

You can lead a normal life after the transplant

The most important question is would the patient be normal after the transplantation? The survival chances after heart transplant surgeries have improved over the years. You can give birth to babies, normally work in your office, go on a vacation and do anything you want. You have to be a little careful that you do not exert much exertion.

The donor’s previous illness does not matter

If your heart’s donor was suffering from a fatal disease, it does not make a difference till his heart is healthy. You could borrow his heart even if he had kidney problems, viral disease, or any other illness apart from heart disease, for that matter.

Posttransplantation care is the root of a healthy life

The patient is a little fragile for the first six months after the transplantation. Therefore, they require extra care and monitoring. A special diet, regular check-ups, medications, everything has to be monitored. There will be some medicines that will go on for a lifetime. So, you will have to take care that you give them to your loved ones from time to time.

More than one organ transplantation is possible

A lot of heart transplant patients also have kidney damage. Therefore, the medical industry allows two or more organs to be transplanted. First, the heart is transplanted, and after a day or two, the second organ is transplanted.

Just physical care is not enough

Remember that a patient went through a heart transplant surgery because he was in immense pain. That pain has, of course, left him in a devastating condition, not just physically but also mentally. So, it becomes your utmost duty to support your loved ones mentally. They will gradually get over their physical pain, but it becomes your duty to improve their condition mentally.

Everyone has a different resistance strength

The fact that someone else’s heart is inserted changes the body. Everyone has a different resistance to a new heart. Each patient’s journey is different from how their bodies react to the new heart. Hence, you should not be influenced by someone else’s heart transplant journey. Some bodies accept the new heart immediately, while some never accept it.

The doctor might only consider a heart transplant if all other therapies have failed

Even if there is a little-bit ray of hope through another treatment or therapy, the doctor will not go for the transplant. Instead, the doctors choose this remedy when there is no other option left. And not just one doctor will decide it, but you need two or more consents to go ahead with a heart transplant surgery.

These were all the important points you must know regarding Heart transplant surgery. Always remember that panicking will not lead you anyway. So, please do not pay much attention to the myths regarding the surgery. Never get influenced by anybody else’s experience. You are supposed to make sure you stay calm and make the most crucial decision for yourself and your loved ones.