In the hospital
After the surgery, someone will take you to the recovery room or the intensive care unit (ICU) and monitor you closely for several days. A nurse will connect you to machines that will display your electrocardiogram (ECG) tracing, blood pressure, other pressure readings, breathing rate, and your oxygen level. Heart transplant surgery requires a hospital stay of 7 to 14 days, or even longer.
You will have a tube in your throat that connects to a breathing machine (ventilator) until you are stable enough to breathe on your own. The breathing tube may stay in for a few hours up to several days, depending on your status. As you recover and start to breathe on your own, the breathing machine will be adjusted to allow you to take over more of the breathing. When you are able to breathe completely on your own and are able to cough, your healthcare provider will remove the breathing tube.
After the breathing tube is out, a nurse will help you cough and take deep breaths every 2 hours. This will be uncomfortable due to chest soreness from the surgery. But it's very important that you do this to keep mucus from collecting in your lungs and possibly causing pneumonia. Your nurse will show you how to hug a pillow tightly against your chest while coughing to help ease the discomfort.
You may get pain medicine as needed, either by a nurse or by giving it yourself by pushing a button attached to a device connected to your IV line.
You may have a thin, plastic tube that goes through your nose and into your stomach to remove air that you swallow. The tube will be taken out when your bowels are working normally. You will not be able to eat or drink until the tube is removed.
Blood samples will be taken often to monitor your new heart, as well as other body functions. These include your lungs, kidneys, liver, and blood system.
You may be on special IV medicines to help your blood pressure and your heart, and to control any problems with bleeding. As your condition stabilizes, your healthcare provider will gradually decrease, then stop, these medicines. If you have pacing wires in your heart, they will be removed, too.
Once your healthcare provider removes the breathing and stomach tubes and you are stable, you may start to drink liquids. You can gradually add more solid foods to your diet as you can handle them.
Your healthcare team will closely watch your anti-rejection (immunosuppression) medicines to make sure you are getting the right dose and the best combination of medicines.
Nurses, respiratory therapists, and physical therapists will work with you as you start physical therapy and breathing exercises.
When your healthcare provider decides you are ready, you will be moved from the ICU to a private room on a surgical unit or transplant unit. Your recovery will continue there. You can gradually increase your activity as you get out of bed and walk around for longer periods. You can eat solid foods as tolerated.
Nurses, pharmacists, dietitians, physical therapists, and other members of the transplant team will teach you what you will need to do to take care of yourself when you go home.
Your healthcare team will arrange for you to go home and schedule a follow-up visit with your healthcare provider.
At home
Once you are home, it will be important to keep the surgical area clean and dry. Your healthcare provider will give you specific bathing instructions. During a follow-up visit, your stitches or surgical staples will be removed if they weren't removed before you left the hospital.
Don't drive until your healthcare provider tells you it's OK. Other activity restrictions may apply.
You will need frequent follow-up visits after a heart transplant. These visits may include blood tests, chest X-rays, and a biopsy. In a biopsy, your healthcare provider uses a thin needle to remove tissue from the heart so it can be checked under a microscope. The transplant team will explain the schedule for these visits and tests. The rehab program will continue for many months.
Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have any of the following:
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Fever, chills, or both. These may be a sign of infection or rejection.
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Redness, swelling, bleeding, or drainage from the incision site or any of the catheter sites
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Increase in pain around the incision site
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Trouble breathing
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Excessive fatigue
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Low blood pressure
Your healthcare provider may give you other instructions after the procedure, depending on your own case. Be sure you understand and follow these instructions.
To allow the transplanted heart to survive in your body, you will need to take medicines for the rest of your life to fight rejection. Each person may react differently to medicines, and side effects can be serious. Your healthcare provider will tailor medicine plans to meet your needs.
You may get several anti-rejection medicines at first. The doses of these medicines may change often, depending on your response. Because anti-rejection medicines affect the immune system, you will be at higher risk for infections. It's important to keep a balance between preventing rejection and making you very susceptible to infection.
Some of the infections you will be especially susceptible to include oral yeast infection (thrush), herpes, and respiratory viruses. Avoid contact with crowds and anyone who has an infection, especially for the first few months after your surgery.
Regular dental care also is important. Your healthcare provider or dentist may prescribe antibiotics before any dental work to help prevent infections.
To watch for signs of rejection, you will get routine right heart biopsies. A biopsy is typically done 1 time per week or 1 time every 2 weeks, early after a transplant. Then the frequency slowly changes to monthly or longer. Over time, you may stop having them.
The right heart biopsy procedure may be done as an outpatient or as an inpatient if you are already in the hospital. The procedure involves a right heart catheterization. A special catheter is threaded through a vein in your neck or groin and into the right atrium of your heart. Your healthcare provider takes 4 to 6 tiny tissue samples through the catheter and checks them for signs of rejection. If they find signs of rejection, the provider may adjust your anti-rejection medicine. The biopsy procedure has its own instructions and risks, and your healthcare provider will discuss these with you.