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
In children, heart failure is most often caused by either a congenital heart defect or cardiomyopathy.
Another organ transplant may be performed at the same time as a heart transplant (multiorgan transplant) in people with certain conditions at select medical centers.
Multiorgan transplants include:
- Heart-kidney transplant. This procedure may be an option for some people with kidney failure in addition to heart failure.
- Heart-liver transplant. This procedure may be an option for people with certain liver and heart conditions.
- Heart-lung transplant. Rarely, doctors may suggest this procedure for some people with severe lung and heart diseases if the conditions cannot be treated with only a heart transplant or a lung transplant.
A heart transplant is not right for everyone, however. You might not be a good candidate for a heart transplant if you:
- Are at an advanced age that would interfere with the ability to recover from transplant surgery
- Have another medical condition that could shorten your life, regardless of receiving a donor heart, such as a serious kidney, liver or lung disease
- Have an active infection
- Have a recent personal medical history of cancer
- Are unwilling or unable to make lifestyle changes necessary to keep your donor heart healthy, such as not using recreational drugs, not smoking and limiting alcohol use
