A heart transplant is an operation in which a failing heart is replaced with a healthier donor heart. Heart transplant is a treatment that's usually reserved for people whose condition hasn't improved enough with medications or other surgeries.
While a heart transplant is a major operation, your chance of survival is good with appropriate follow-up care.
Heart transplants are performed when other treatments for heart problems haven't worked, leading to heart failure. In adults, heart failure can be caused by:
- A weakening of the heart muscle (cardiomyopathy)
- Coronary artery disease
- Heart valve disease
- A heart problem you're born with (congenital heart defect)
- Dangerous recurring abnormal heart rhythms (ventricular arrhythmias) not controlled by other treatments
- Failure of a previous heart transplant