Heart Transplantation
Heart transplantation may be a life saving treatment for individuals with end-stage heart failure. At Loyola, those individuals are cared for by the most experienced and successful heart transplant team in Illinois.
Loyola University Medical Center has been performing heart transplants since 1984, longer than most other medical centers that now do the procedure. During that time, the medical community has gained an enormous amount of knowledge and made technical advances that have made the procedure safer and more effective. Loyola University Medical Center's total history of combined heart transplant experience has produced excellent patient outcomes. Loyola University Medical Center performs approximately 30 heart transplants each year. To date, Loyola University Medical Center has performed more than 600 heart transplants.
The following information will explain the transplant process. Each potential candidate will complete an extensive evaluation. This information will allow the transplant team to determine if you are a heart transplant candidate.
A team of professionals works together to select patients who can best benefit from heart transplantation and to care for them throughout the process. The team includes physicians who specialize in cardiovascular surgery, transplant cardiology, infectious disease, immunology, pathology and psychology, along with nurses, social workers, physical and occupational therapists, dietitians and pastoral care.
A nurse with expertise in heart transplantation serves as the coordinator for patients who are in the hospital waiting for a donor heart, at home with the HeartMate pump, and in the hospital for heart transplant surgery. The coordinator is the point person for all of a patient’s needs and is available to patients on a daily basis if necessary. The coordinator can explain treatments, teach patients how to monitor their own health, and help coordinate their tests and home care needs.
Another resource for patients is the heart transplant social worker. She helps evaluate patients for transplant, counsels patients and their families about the process of transplant, and provides resources and referrals if other services are needed, such as long-term counseling. The social worker also can assist with financial forms in some cases.
Individuals who have received or are waiting for a transplant also can receive invaluable support and encouragement from others who are in their situation. Loyola sponsors several different heart transplant support groups whose purpose is to provide health education, such as stress reduction techniques, and social interaction to foster supportive bonds between among patients.
Loyola University Medical Center is one of the few heart transplant centers to have a heart transplant unit (HTU) dedicated exclusively to patients who have received a transplant or are awaiting transplantation. The unit was the first of its kind in the United States when it opened in 1988. Staffed by experienced cardiology nurses, the enclosed unit consists of 10 private rooms surrounding a nursing station. In addition to being equipped with the most advanced heart monitoring systems that enable patients to move about the halls, each room has amenities such as an exercise bike and a VCR. A computer is dedicated exclusively to patients and enables them to use e-mail and educational resources on the internet. The unit also has its own dedicated biopsy lab to provide specialized care to heart transplant patients. Patients and staff on the self-contained unit often get to know each other very well; the small unit is conducive to social interaction.
Heart transplantation is not a cure for end-stage heart disease, because it requires lifelong medications and lifestyle changes. Loyola University Health System (Loyola) has conducted a study funded by the National Institutes of Health to examine the quality of life of heart transplant recipients. The 10-year study included 550 heart transplant candidates from Loyola and the University of Alabama Medical Center in Birmingham. While only preliminary results are available, some of the data has revealed that before surgery 79 percent of patients rated their overall quality of life as very good or moderately good. One year after surgery, 91 percent of patients rated their quality of life as very good or moderately good. One year after surgery, 95 percent of study patients were greatly satisfied with the outcome of their heart transplant.
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For an appointment or for more information about Heart Transplantation, call (888) LUHS-888.