Heart Transplants

• Multicellular organisms require transport systems to supply their cells and remove waste products.
• In humans, one of the functions of the circulatory system is to transport substances.
• Part of the function of the heart is to control the heart rate.
• The blood vessels are part of the circulatory system.
• White blood cells are part of the circulatory system.
• Development of cardiovascular disease can lead to heart failure.
• Heart transplants are an operation to replace a damaged heart with a healthy heart from a donor.
• Coronary heart disease is a form of heart disease in which one or more of the coronary arteries become blocked, depriving the heart muscle of oxygen.
• Heart failure is a condition where the heart is failing to pump sufficient blood around the body at the appropriate pressure.
• Organ failure can lead to organ starvation, where organs are starved of oxygen.
• There are different degrees of severity of heart failure.
• A consultant assesses the patient's condition.
• If other treatments are not managing the heart condition, a transplant may be recommended and a patient will be put on a waiting list.
• A transplant puts major strain on the body, and the benefits and risks will be evaluated including whether the patient's condition is sufficiently severe and other health factors.
• There is a shortage of donor hearts in the UK.
• Only around 200 transplants are carried out each year in a small number of hospitals.
• Artificial hearts are plastic devices used occasionally to keep patients alive whilst waiting for a heart transplant.
• After the transplant, the patient will need time to heal, recover and build up strength.
• The patient will have to take drugs called immunosuppressant drugs for the rest of their life to prevent the person's immune system from rejecting the donor heart.
• The patient will have an increased risk of infection because of these drugs.