Erin is another “Angel of Mercy” has offered to write a guest post here ….. these are her words ….

How to Prepare for a Heart Transplant

Heart transplants require a great deal of physical and mental preparation, sometimes weeks or months before the surgery date. Here are the steps that heart transplant patients and their families can expect before receiving a heart transplant.

Know the Risks

The main risk of a heart transplant is that your body may reject the donor heart, thinking it’s a foreign object. Heart transplant patients take medication to reduce the activity of the immune system during and after surgery, but about a quarter of patients experience symptoms of rejection within the first year. Usually this requires regular doses of medication. Other risks are related to the immunosuppressant medication and include increased risk for infection, cancer, and other diseases.

Choosing a Center

If your doctor recommends that you have a heart transplant, he/she will discuss the risks with you and refer you to a heart transplant center for an evaluation. However, you can also choose a center on your own. There are a number of factors to consider when it comes to choosing a center. You should find out which centers are covered by your insurance plan. You should also research the different centers to see how many heart transplants they perform each year, their patient survival rate, and if they offer any additional services such as support groups or travel assistance.

Eligibility Evaluation

Once you decide on a center, you will go there to have an evaluation to see if you are eligible for a heart transplant. The evaluation is done to ensure that you would benefit from a transplant rather than other less invasive treatments. It is also done to make sure that you are physically and emotionally prepared for the heart transplant process.

Waiting for a Donor

If the center decides that you are eligible for a heart transplant, you will be put on a waiting list. During this time, medical professionals will continue to maintain treatment on your heart. You may have to have a temporary device implanted to support your heart during the wait. Keep in mind that your name may be taken off the waiting list if you develop a medical condition that makes you unable to have surgery, such as a severe infection or stroke.

Finding a Match

When a donor heart is available, a number of factors will be considered to ensure it is a match. These include medical urgency, blood type, organ size, and the time a patient has spent on the waiting list. Heart transplants must occur within four hours of organ removal, so organs will be offered to local centers, followed by centers a little further away. This means that you may be notified that a donor heart is available at a moment’s notice. You’ll only have a little time to decide to accept the organ, in which case you must go to the hospital immediately. As a result, you should have a bag packed in advance with everything you would need in the hospital, especially extra medication.

Surgery & Beyond

The surgery itself takes about four hours. Patients can expect to spend another one or two weeks in the hospital in order to recover. They will continue to be monitored by the heart transplant center for another three months through outpatient services to make sure your body is adjusting to a new heart. Long-term adjustments include taking medication on a regular basis and other lifestyle changes such as diet and exercises.

It takes a lot of preparation to have a heart transplant, but any recipient will tell you that it’s worth it!

This article was written by Erin McKinney, who is a licensed nurse practitioner. Erin also owns the site http://www.mastersofnursing.org   Masters of Nursing  for students interested in getting an advanced degree in the nursing field.

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