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

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.

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

Risks for any anesthesia are:

• Reactions to medications
• Problems breathing

Risks for any surgery are:

• Bleeding
• Infection

Heart transplants carry major risks. There is a greater risk of infection because of the drugs that must be taken to prevent transplant rejection. Call your doctor if there are signs of infection (redness, drainage, fever) or if there is a general worsening of health.