Heart Transplantation: Indications, Postoperative Management and Long-Term Outcomes

Heart failure is an increasingly prevalent syndrome worldwide with a high impact on quality of life and survival. Although there have been great advances in the treatment of this condition that effectively increase survival, mortality remains unacceptably high, exceeding 40% at 5 years, which is worse than a large number of cancers. Furthermore, patients with advanced heart failure are a particular subgroup with higher hospitalizations and mortality, with a short-term survival that can be as low as 50% in the case of cardiogenic shock. Heart transplantation remains the gold standard treatment for these patients when other pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions have failed, with a 1-year survival of approximately 90%. However, not all patients are suitable candidates for this procedure, and knowing the indications as well as the contraindications for heart transplantation is essential for appropriate patient selection. Heart Transplantation: Indications, Postoperative Management and Long-Term Outcomes is a highly illustrated, didactic book that comprehensively describes the pretransplant assessment of the advanced heart failure patient, the perioperative management of heart transplantation, and the early and late complications of the heart transplant recipient. It also covers special situations in heart transplantation such as Chagas cardiomyopathy, congenital heart disease, hypertrophic/restrictive cardiomyopathy and pediatric heart transplantation. This book is intended for cardiology fellows in training, surgeons, cardiologists, internists, and other health professionals involved in the care of heart transplant patients.