A heart transplant may be considered if you have severe heart failure, or more rarely congenital heart disease. Not everyone who has these conditions is suitable for a transplant.If your condition is serious and other treatments have not managed to improve things or control your symptoms, your cardiologist may send you to a heart transplant centre for a transplant assessment.Waiting for a heart transplantIf you are considered suitable for a heart transplant you will be added to the transplant waiting list. Once you are on the list, a suitable heart may come along in a few days, or it may take many months or even years. Unfortunately suitable hearts do not become available for everyone and only about 7 in 10 people on the waiting list receive a transplant. In the UK, the average waiting time for an adult is about six months, and the average waiting time for a child is three months.Having a heart transplant operationhe operation usually takes between four and six hours. You will be given a general anaesthetic.The surgeon will make a cut in your breastbone to get access to your heart.You will be connected to a heart-lung bypass machine which makes the blood circulate around your body.Your surgeon will then work on transplanting your new heart.When this is finished, they will start your heart beating again. When the heart begins to take over pumping and your condition is stable, the heart-lung machine will be turned off. The surgeon will then close your breastbone with wire, which will stay there for the rest of your life.After the operation you will be moved to the intensive care unit. Most people wake the following day. You will be sedated and breathe with the help of a ventilator machine until you are able to breathe for yourself.
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