HEART TRANSPLANT: INDICATIONS AND PATIENTS’ QUALITY OF LIFE

• DOI: 10.22533/at.ed.1593972327116

• Palavras-chave: Heart transplant; Indications; Quality of life.

• Keywords: Heart transplant; Indications; Quality of life.

• Abstract:

  Heart failure has been increasing more and more in recent years due to the population's increased longevity, advances in the treatment of acute heart attacks with the use of thrombolytics and angioplasty, the expansion of cardiac interventions and improvements in the diagnosis of the syndrome. With the current modifications incorporated into pharmacological treatment, there has been an improvement in patient survival. Therefore, the evolution of cardiomyopathy to terminal forms is unquestionable due to the characteristics of the disease and, in these situations, transplantation may be the only alternative. Heart transplantation is the only effective way to restore the patient's hemodynamic functions, however it has different limitations and does not apply to all candidates. The limitation of viable organs is one of the biggest factors that impede the development of transplants. This problem becomes more evident when it comes to organs that are more sensitive to shock and ischemia injuries. Despite the great advances made in legislation on organ transplants, there is still a lack of an effective health policy aimed at promoting the recruitment and adequate maintenance of donors so that this situation can be reversed. The quality of donated organs and the serious clinical condition of candidates arriving at transplant centers are the main factors responsible for unsatisfactory results in the immediate phase of heart transplantation. The present study aims to present a review of the indications for heart transplantation and the quality of life of patients.