R R

What Is Heart Transplantation?

Heart transplantation is surgery that replaces a failing heart with a healthy donor heart from a deceased donor. It is used for selected patients with end-stage heart disease when other medical, catheter-based, or surgical treatments can no longer provide adequate function. Most procedures are orthotopic transplants, meaning the donor heart is placed in the normal position after most of the recipient's diseased heart is removed. Transplantation can restore circulation and quality of life, but it requires lifelong specialist follow-up and immunosuppressive medication.

Link to This Resource Page

Provide a valuable resource to your clients or customers by linking to this resource page. Just place the following link on your website.

To display this...

What Is Heart Transplantation?

Heart transplantation is surgery that replaces a failing heart with a healthy donor heart from a deceased donor. It is used for selected patients with end-stage heart disease when other medical, catheter-based, or surgical treatments can no longer provide adequate function. Most procedures are orthotopic transplants, meaning the donor heart is placed in the normal position after most of the recipient's diseased heart is removed. Transplantation can restore circulation and quality of life, but it requires lifelong specialist follow-up and immunosuppressive medication.

read more about heart transplantation ...

Copy this HTML:

Copy HTML Copied!

Why Is Heart Transplantation Performed?

Heart transplantation is considered for severe heart failure or other irreversible cardiac disease when expected survival and quality of life remain poor despite optimal treatment. Candidates undergo extensive evaluation of heart function, pulmonary pressures, kidney and liver function, infections, cancer risk, adherence, psychosocial readiness, and other conditions that can affect transplant outcomes. Donor matching considers factors such as blood type, body size, organ quality, and medical urgency. Some patients require a ventricular assist device or other temporary mechanical circulatory support while waiting for a suitable donor heart.

How Is Heart Transplantation Performed?

The operation is performed through a median sternotomy with cardiopulmonary bypass. Most of the recipient's heart is removed while portions of the atrial or venous connections are preserved for attachment of the donor organ. The donor heart is sewn into place by connecting the left atrium, venae cavae, pulmonary artery, and aorta, commonly using a bicaval technique. Blood flow is restored, the donor heart is assessed for function and rhythm, and temporary pacing or mechanical support can be used if early graft function is weak.

What Is Recovery Like After Heart Transplantation?

Patients recover in a cardiac intensive-care unit where the transplant team monitors heart function, rhythm, blood pressure, infection, kidney function, and signs of rejection. Immunosuppressive medicines begin immediately and must be continued for life to reduce immune attack on the donor heart. Early follow-up is intensive and can include frequent blood testing, echocardiography, and endomyocardial biopsies or other rejection surveillance. Rehabilitation, infection prevention, medication management, vaccination planning, and long-term cardiovascular risk reduction remain part of lifelong transplant care.

What Are the Risks and Complications?

Possible early complications include bleeding, infection, arrhythmias, kidney injury, primary graft dysfunction, and problems with the surgical connections. Acute or chronic rejection can damage the transplanted heart despite immunosuppressive therapy. Immunosuppression increases the risk of infection, kidney dysfunction, metabolic disease, and certain cancers. Cardiac allograft vasculopathy can gradually narrow the donor heart's coronary arteries and is an important long-term cause of graft failure.

Frequently Asked Questions About Heart Transplantation

Does a heart transplant require lifelong medication?

Yes. Transplant recipients require lifelong immunosuppressive medication to reduce the risk that the immune system will attack the donor heart.

What happens to the old heart during transplantation?

Most of the diseased heart is removed during an orthotopic transplant, while selected atrial or venous tissue can remain to create the surgical connections.

How is heart transplant rejection monitored?

Monitoring can include symptoms, blood tests, echocardiography, endomyocardial biopsy, and other transplant-specific testing according to the center's protocol.

Can a transplanted heart fail?

Yes. Rejection, primary graft dysfunction, infection, cardiac allograft vasculopathy, or other complications can eventually cause loss of transplant function.

References

Heart Transplantation. MedlinePlus. https://medlineplus.gov/hearttransplantation.html. Date Accessed September 11, 2026.

Heart transplant. Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/heart-transplant/about/pac-20384750. Date Accessed September 11, 2026.

The International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT) guidelines for the care of heart transplant recipients. PubMed. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37080658/. Date Accessed September 11, 2026.

Orthotopic heart transplantation: the bicaval technique. PubMed. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26512128/. Date Accessed September 11, 2026.

Heart Transplantation Allograft Vasculopathy. StatPearls (NCBI Bookshelf). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK555999/. Date Accessed September 11, 2026.