Home
Services
Transplant Center
Heart Transplant

Heart Transplant

Back

Heart Transplant FAQs
Meet Our Heart Transplant Team

Why Loyola
Our Team
Transplant Types
What to Expect
FAQs

Exceptional Outcomes for Heart Transplant Patients since 1984

The heart transplant program at Loyola Medicine is committed to excellence in the care and education of patients with advanced heart failure and heart transplantation. Through academic distinction and research, we continuously evolve to provide cutting-edge therapies. We aim to improve our patients' length and quality of life.

The highest level of integrated, multidisciplinary care is offered to advanced heart failure patients who are in need of a heart transplant. Our cardiology and cardiovascular surgery care teams are known for taking on the most challenging cases and delivering specialized, advanced treatment. Our heart team, including our subspecialists who are experts in a variety of health conditions, are ready to help you.

Advanced Cardiac Transplantation Technology and Expert Team

Our heart transplant team uses the latest technology and advancements in organ procurement and preservation to maintain the integrity of the donor's heart. These advancements help improve our patients' short term and long term recovery.

At Loyola, you will have an entire team on your side, including:

Your cardiologist
Transplant surgeon
LVAD specialists
Nurse coordinators
Procurement coordinators
Infectious disease specialists
Nurse practitioners
Anesthesiologists
Transplant chaplains
Physical therapists
Dietitians
Financial coordinators
Clinical pharmacists
Social workers
Psychologists

Center for Heart & Vascular Medicine

Loyola’s Center for Heart & Vascular Medicine houses one of the top-rated cardiovascular programs in the country. This dedicated facility on the Loyola University Medical Center campus brings Loyola’s cardiology and heart transplant specialists together under one roof, helping our doctors better collaborate on patient care and treatment options. We also facilitate lifestyle changes and genetic counseling for family members who are at risk for heart disease.

As a patient at Loyola, you will enjoy improved access to cardiac testing areas, as well as heart and vascular specialists. We provide a comprehensive range of services, including:

Cardiac surgical procedures
Diagnostic angiography
Initial screenings and evaluations
Non-invasive diagnostic exams
Non-surgical and minimally invasive treatments
Vascular testing

In addition to convenience, Loyola facilities offer state-of-the-art technology and procedures for all of your treatment needs including:

Cardiovascular interventional lab
Electrophysiology lab
Hybrid operating room
World-class cardiovascular imaging

What Diseases are Treated with Heart Transplant?

Loyola’s cardiologists and transplant surgeons are well versed in every type of heart disease and failure. Your healthcare team will explore conservative treatments first and foremost. If your condition is not well controlled with other treatments, a heart transplant may be the best medical option. Some heart conditions that may require a heart transplant include:

Advanced heart disease
Cardiomyopathy
Complex adult congenital heart disease or defect
Coronary artery disease
Dilated cardiomyopathy
Heart failure and advanced heart failure
Heart valve disease
Life-threatening arrhythmias, or abnormal heartbeats or rhythms, that do not respond to other treatments
Restrictive myopathy
Severe angina that can no longer be treated with medications or other surgeries
Valvular heart disease

Loyola Medicine Welcomes Patients Seeking Second Opinions

When a patient seeks a second opinion, they're looking for a fresh interpretation of a given diagnosis or treatment plan from a different doctor.

Getting a second opinion is a normal part of finding treatment and can increase your confidence in your diagnosis and treatment plans. It also ensures you choose a physician you have a comfortable rapport with. New clinical trials or treatments are also only being performed by certain physicians.

Loyola's specialist offices are located throughout Chicago’s western and southwestern suburbs and are open for second opinion consultations.

Ongoing Clinical Trials to Advance Heart Transplant Research

Loyola is conducting research today that will lead to the treatments of tomorrow. As an academic medical center, Loyola can offer groundbreaking treatments through ongoing national trials and clinical research.

Our program currently is participating in multicenter clinical trials for disease treatment, LVAD registry, medication usage and clinical outcomes. Loyola patients will be granted access to the latest medications and therapies through our clinical trials.

Meet Our Team

What are the Different Types of Heart Transplants?

Heart patients can benefit from three kinds of transplants:

Heart transplant — A surgery that removes a diseased or damaged heart and replaces it with a donor heart.
Heart-lung transplant — A surgery that is performed for unsalvageable dual cardiac and pulmonary failure.
Heart-kidney transplant — A surgery that is performed when both cardiac and renal organs are in end-stage failure.

Alternatives to Cardiac Transplantation

Your Loyola surgeon may suggest the following treatments as an alternative to cardiac transplantation or as a bridge to transplant surgery:

LVAD implantation — Loyola’s internationally recognized team of cardiothoracic surgeons specializes in using left ventricular assist devices (LVAD) to treat patients with heart disease or advanced heart failure.
Medical management — Your Loyola doctors may prescribe a medication change or increase in dose to properly manage your condition while waiting for a suitable organ match.
Myocardial revascularization — For patients with ischemic heart disease who are not good candidates for a balloon or stent placement in the heart vessel, or for coronary artery bypass surgery, this procedure may reduce pain and eliminate the need for medication.
Temporary VAD implantation — Loyola also offers the Impella® and Cardiohelp® short-term ventricular assist devices (VAD) for patients with advanced heart disease.

Evaluation for Advanced Therapies

Your cardiologist may recommend an evaluation of advanced therapy options for the treatment of your heart failure. Our advanced heart failure cardiology team will work with you to confirm your diagnosis of end-stage heart failure and start your VAD evaluation. The evaluation has several steps and we will guide you through the process.

Depending on your condition, the advanced heart failure cardiologist may request additional testing in addition to our routine evaluation to gain a comprehensive representation of your past and present health history. A routine evaluation includes:

Review of health history with the medical team
Extensive cardiac testing
Imaging
Blood work
Cancer screening
Psycho-social consultation
Palliative care consultation

Some conditions are barriers to VAD implantation, including alcohol and substance abuse problems, an inability to comply with treatment (such as following a complex medication plan), a lack of social and financial support, and uncontrolled or untreatable mental illnesses.

The Medical Review Board will discuss your case and decide whether a heart transplant would be a treatment option available for you. Loyola offers behavioral health treatments that can help you meet the requirements for a heart transplant.

Heart Transplant Requirements

The Loyola Medicine Heart Transplant Program carefully assesses patients with advanced heart failure to determine if they are good candidates for a heart transplant. Ideal candidates for a heart transplant typically:

Are physically capable of undergoing heart surgery
Have a high potential to strongly recover after heart surgery
Are able to take care of themselves after heart surgery
Maintain a healthy lifestyle

Treatment

If you are given approval as a heart transplant candidate, you will be placed on the national waiting list with the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS). Your wait time for a donor heart depends on many factors, including your medical urgency, compatibility to the donor and geography (organs are matched within the same region whenever possible). Your heart transplant team will keep you up to date on all tests and treatments. We will also work with you on your exercise and nutritional plans so that you are ready for surgery once a suitable donor heart is available. Your care team will prepare you for the day that a donor match arrives.

It is extremely important during this time that you keep your scheduled appointments with your medical team and keep them informed of any changes in address, insurance, phone number or vacation plans. Your transplant team must be able to reach you within a moment’s notice if your donor heart becomes available.

A strong partnership with good communication is the key to a successful transplant surgery and recovery. Your care team will guide you through this journey, ensuring you receive all necessary health care testing and appointments needed while waiting for a donor heart to become available.

Life After Heart Transplantation

Heart transplantation is a major open chest surgery and recovery time may vary. Patients will come directly out of the operating room and recover in the cardiovascular intensive care unit, located next to the operating room.

As the patient progresses, they will transition out of the intensive care unit to our cardiothoracic step-down unit. Members of our multi-disciplinary team will be working with the patient and caregivers to prepare everyone for a successful discharge from the hospital.

Our multi-disciplinary care team will work with the patient and family with any roadblocks that may come across while preparing for discharge, such as:

Learning how to care for your new heart
Learning how to manage your medication
Tips to prevent rejection of the new heart
How to prevent infection
Rehabilitation needs that promote a healthy lifestyle and create the pathway to full recovery

Your Transplant Team

Loyola's transplant team will continue to care for you and your new heart after surgery to ensure the best quality of life possible. Your team may include:

Transplant physician
Transplant nurse coordinator
Transplant pharmacist
Transplant dietitian
Transplant social worker
Transplant psychologist
Rehabilitation services

Heart transplantation requires a strong commitment and close follow-up from the patient. Our heart transplant team remains a strong partner in your post-transplant lifestyle and is here to collaborate with you each step of the way.

Common Questions about Heart Transplants

If your Loyola cardiologist or cardiovascular surgeon has recommended a heart transplant as your best medical option, we understand that you will have many questions.

Explore the frequently asked questions and answers under the before surgery and after surgery tabs to find answers to many of the questions you may have. We expect that you have many concerns about your transplant surgery and are available to answer your questions at your appointment times.

What to Expect Before Heart Transplant Surgery

How can I become a donor or encourage a friend to become a donor?

Loyola Medicine has partnered with Gift of Hope Organ & Tissue Donor Network as part of the Hospitals for Hope campaign. You can register to become an organ and tissue donor on the Gift of Hope's website. Your decision can make an impact that will save and enhance countless lives.

How long should I expect to wait for a transplant?

In our region, the average wait time for a heart on the national waiting list is seven months. Your Loyola transplant team will continue to manage your condition and keep you healthy until you receive your transplant.

Who pays for the operation?

Insurance, whether private, Medicare or Medicaid, will pay for your evaluation and surgery. Please contact your insurance company for specific levels of coverage.

How can I find out if I need a heart transplant?

Talk to your cardiologist to see if a heart transplant is right for you. You also can contact our team and a transplant nurse will answer your questions.

How do I know if I qualify for a heart transplant?

Although you may have been told you need a transplant, several tests must be done to evaluate your overall health, including how your heart, lungs and kidneys are functioning. After your tests are completed, your doctors will review your results and propose the best treatment for you. Learn about our evaluation for heart transplant process.

What does a heart transplant evaluation involve?

Once patients are identified as potential heart transplant candidates, they undergo several days of extensive tests and consults. The heart transplant team will then review and discuss the results to determine if the patient should be listed for transplant surgery.

What is the age limit for heart transplant surgery?

Heart transplants are routinely performed for patients of all ages. A person will not be denied a transplant based on age alone.

What does it mean to be on “the list” for a heart or heart-lung transplant?

Once you are deemed a suitable transplant candidate, your name will be placed on the national waiting list with the United Network for Organ Sharing, also known as UNOS. You can visit the UNOS website for research and educational articles on transplant surgery.

What should I be doing while I wait for a donor?

Waiting for a donor heart can be a stressful experience. During this time, there are important steps that transplant candidates can take to ensure they are ready for surgery when the important call comes. In some cases, a patient may need to undergo a heart pump surgery, also known as a left ventricular assist device implantation (LVAD), while waiting for a transplant. Let your healthcare team know if any of your contact information changes, so they may contact you right away if a heart becomes available.

What tests may be required before my surgery?

Periodic testing will be required to monitor your health while you are waiting for a donor.

Where do I go for surgery?

When called in for transplant surgery, your nurse coordinator will give you instructions on when to come to the hospital and where to go.

How long is the surgery?

Heart transplant surgery can take from six to 12 hours, with variation from patient to patient based on the complexity of the operation.

What to Expect After Heart Transplant Surgery

What can I expect after transplant surgery?

After your transplant surgery, you will be taken to the intensive care unit, where you will be closely monitored. Your hospital stay can vary depending on the severity of your illness before the transplant or other factors.

What type of pain control will I have?

Your level of pain will be carefully monitored and controlled with medicine administered through your IV. When you start eating again, the pain medication will be given as pills or tablets.

Will I have a breathing tube after my surgery?

Following transplant surgery, you will be on a breathing machine. The tube will be removed as soon as your doctor determines that you are well enough to breathe on your own. This is usually done within the first 24 to 48 hours.

What are the visiting hours?

Visiting hours are set to allow you the time to recover after your surgery. Visiting hours for most hospital patients at Loyola are from 9 am to 9 pm.

Are there external stitches that need to be removed?

Your incision will be closed with small adhesive bandages. As your wound heals, these bandages will fall off.

What follow-up care is required after my transplant?

Following transplant surgery, you will have several follow-up appointments. Heart transplant patients require periodic blood work, radiology testing, echocardiograms and endomyocardial biopsies (EMB). These tests monitor how your new heart is functioning.

How long will I have to take anti-rejection medications?

You will have to take these medications for as long as you have a transplanted organ. The anti-rejection medications are extremely important and must be taken every day, preferably at the same time, to prevent rejection.

What activities can I do at home?

Before being discharged from the hospital, you will be instructed about your exercise plan and activities to avoid while healing from surgery.

When can I return to work?

The goal of transplant surgery is to allow you to return to your former activities, including work. Work clearance is given on an individual basis.

What doctor appointments will I have?

You will have several follow-up appointments after being discharged from the hospital, including cardiology, surgery and endocrine visits. You will be given an appointment schedule before you are discharged from the hospital.

Whom do I call if I have questions or problems?

You will be given a list of important phone numbers with instructions on whom and when to call prior to discharge.

Will I have rehabilitation after my procedure?

Rehabilitation is required following transplant to increase strength and endurance. Rehabilitation can be performed on an inpatient or outpatient basis. Your social worker will assist you in finding a convenient rehabilitation facility.

Featured Heart Transplant Videos

Patient gets second chance with transplant

Father and Son Receive Transplants 30 Years Apart

Loyola Medicine embraces heart transplant patient

Grateful Father Blessed with the Gift of a New Heart

Request an Appointment

Loyola's expert and recognized transplant team has one goal: restoring you to better health.

Schedule an appointment with any of our heart, lung, liver, pancreas or kidney transplant specialists or learn about our living donor transplant programs today.

Call Us at 708-327-3700