Heart transplants are usually performed in severe cases, which are referred to as ‘end-stage’ cases, in which conventional treatments are not effective. Patients who want to get a heart transplant in India have to meet certain requirements. 

Indian surgeons use the cutting edge techniques to make heart transplantation in India affordable for both domestic and foreign patients.

Need for a heart transplant

People with advanced heart failure require heart transplant as their heart is unable to pump blood properly because of damage or weakening of the heart muscle. By heart transplant surgery they can get a second chance to live the life.

Heart transplant is needed if the individual is suffering from the following problems:

• Congenital Heart Disease
• Damaged Coronary Arteries
• Weakened Heart Muscle
• Heart problem due to age, overall health, some disorders etc.

Factors that prevent to do heart transplant

• Cancer history of the patient
• Physical Weakness
• Infection
• Some types of disorder that decrease the life span of patient despite transplantation
• Overall health, age and lifestyle

Tests to be done before Heart Transplant

Prior to heart transplantation, a series of tests must be performed to assess your general health and fitness. These tests typically include:

• Liver and Kidney Function test 
• To examine the health of the heart, an electrocardiogram (EKG)
• Blood tests to assess organ efficiency and blood component
• Chest X-ray to assess any potential issues
• To examine the size, shape, chamber efficacy, and valve functionality of the heart, an Echocardiography is performed

Types of Heart Transplant in India

Orthotopic heart transplant:

This involves replacing the recipient’s diseased heart with a healthier donor heart. This is done by putting the recipient on an oxygenated bypass machine and then removing the recipient’s heart and replacing it with the donor’s heart. 

Heterotopic heart transplant: 

This is a less common procedure in which the recipient’s heart is replaced with a donor’s heart instead of being completely removed. 

Risks Associated with Heart Transplant

Heart transplant surgery can be life-changing, but it comes with a number of risks such as 

• Rejection of the donor heart 
• Infection after the transplant
• Side effects of different medications
• Coronary artery disease
• Cancer
• Bleeding
• Kidney problems
• Failure of the new heart after the transplant
• Recovery complications

Waiting for donor heart

After fulfilling all the criteria as a heart recipient, the patient is included in the waiting list. The waiting time may be short or long depending upon the availability of donors and patient’s urgency. The patient should take care of his/her good health during the waiting period. Bridge treatments can be taken during this time. The donor’s heart is matched with patient on the basis of blood type and organ size of donor and patient’s antibodies.

Heart Transplant Procedure

When the donor heart is confirmed, doctor immediately starts preparing for the surgery as the transplant must be done within four hours of the removal of the donor’s heart form the donor’s body.

During the Transplant

Heart transplant is a critical surgery and it can take 5 to 6 hours. In case of some patient who has had previous surgery, it may take more time. The procedure is performed under general anesthesia. The patient is kept on a ventilator. The patient’s body is connected to a heart-lung machine so that oxygen rich blood can be continuously circulated to the body. The surgeon makes an incision on the chest of the patient. Then patient’s heart is removed and sews donor’s heart into the patient’s body. Generally the new heart starts functioning after the restoration of blood flow. But in some cases, an electric shock is given to start the heart. The patient is kept under observation and treated with medications until the condition stabilizes.

After the Transplant

After the surgery, the patient will be kept in ICU for a few days depending upon his health condition and will be monitored all the times. Different tests such as heart biopsies, electrocardiogram, echocardiography etc. will be carried out during that time to examine the condition of the patient. Various medicines will be given to normalize the patient’s condition. The patient should be prepared to strictly follow certain rules to make the surgery successful. 

• After leaving hospital, the patient should strictly follow the doctor’s advice.
• Medications especially immunosuppressants which are used to protect the donor heart from the attack of patient’s immune system have many side effects.
• The patient should follow a new prescribed diet and exercise routine. They can join cardiac rehabilitation camp to cope with the changes and achieve fast recovery.
• Emotional support is also required to keep the patient mentally strong.

Recovery Time

Depending upon the immune system and overall health conditions of the patient, the recovery time for patients differ from one to two months.

Benefits of performing heart transplant in India

• India has many hospitals with world class facilities and highly skilled and experienced doctors to perform heart transplant surgery.
• The cost of the surgery along with the other cost is very less in comparison to western world.
• The high success rate of transplant in India also attracts many foreigners.
• Robotic heart transplant is also carried out in India which is slightly more expensive.