by Donna Carroll Batton

Created on: May 23, 2009

Being told you need a heart transplant is almost enough to send you into cardiac arrest. Although, chances are, by the time you hear those fateful words you are sick enough and desperate enough to be open to anything that might prolong your life.

Once the shock wears off and the words slowly sink in you are bound to have a myriad of questions about heart transplantation procedure and what to expect afterwards. This article addresses those questions and will hopefully leave you with at least some idea of what is to come.

The first step towards heart transplantation is to be referred to a transplant center for evaluation. Though told by your doctor that a transplant is needed a transplant center will run tests, both physical and psychological, to see if you are a good candidate for a transplant. A spouse or close family member can also expect to be questioned to make certain he/she is willing and able to oversee your immediate recovery.

When all testing is completed and you are deemed a successful candidate for transplant, you will be placed on a waiting list for a donor heart. These lists can vary according to hospitals, states and countries. The wait can be for as little as days or as long as several years, depending on the severity of your condition and the availability of a matching organ.

You will receive all the information available concerning the procedure itself as well as what to expect afterward. You will most likely be told that a heart transplant is not a complete cure but rather an exchange of one problem for another. Yes, you will have a new heart that, hopefully, will give you many more years of quality life. However, you need to also understand that you will have to take anti-rejection medicine for the rest of your life, like clockwork. In fact, when you leave the hospital you will have approximately forty-odd pills to take every day. This amount will decrease somewhat the farther out from transplant you are, but you will have to be vigilant about taking them.

If a heart condition is severe and a person is admitted to the hospital until a doner heart is found an artificial heart pump may be used to help the failing heart function during the wait.

When a donor heart, exactly matching your criteria, is found you will be notified and told to come to the hospital immediately. If all goes well with the additional examination of the heart upon delivery at the hospital, you will be prepped and taken to the operating

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