Addressing Potential Complications
Complications can occur after any surgery, but special complications are associated with transplantation. Your medical team has years of experience in recognizing complications and we are aware of most things that can happen. We know how to prevent complications and how to treat them if they occur. Remember that your role in monitoring your health, following a healthy lifestyle and taking your medication is critical. Some potential complications after transplant include organ rejection, infections, graft coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and depression.
Organ rejection
In a healthy immune system, white blood cells circulate through the body looking for foreign invaders like bacteria or viruses. If a foreign invader enters your body, perhaps through a skin cut, your immune system automatically sees it as a threat and attacks it. Unfortunately, your new heart is also foreign and your immune system treats it the same as it would a bacteria or virus. Rejection is your body's attempt to protect you by attacking a foreign protein that has entered your body.
Preventing rejection requires taking medications called immunosuppressants. Immunosuppressant medications help prevent rejection and help your body accept the new heart by weakening or suppressing the immune system.
Infections
The anti-rejection medications that keep your body from rejecting your new heart have the unfortunate side effect of compromising your immune system. You may no longer have the ability to fight off infections the way you used to. However, you can minimize infections by preventing exposure to infections, being aware of the symptoms and seeking treatment immediately. Now that you are a transplant recipient, view all infections as potentially serious.
Graft Coronary Artery Disease
Graft coronary artery disease, which causes blockages in the heart, is the leading cause of death after the first year of heart transplantation. You can help prevent this condition by taking your medication and using conventional heart-health practices. These include controlling blood pressure and weight, maintaining a low-cholesterol diet, and doing a reasonable amount of exercise. During the first 5 years after your heart transplant, you will have an annual examination of your heart's blood vessels via a catheter inserted into the blood vessels. Blockages that can be reached by catheter may be removed or compacted with a balloon or a stent.
High Blood Pressure
If you did not have high blood pressure before your transplant, you may have it afterward due to anti-rejection medication. Fortunately, a variety of medications are available to help you control this condition.
Diabetes
Diabetes can also be a side effect of some of your new anti-rejection medications. Everyone's blood sugars are different and sometimes unpredictable. This is especially true for people with heart failure. The disease progression and medications used to treat the disease can cause blood sugars to run higher or lower than usual. Some people who did not have diabetes before their transplant may find that they now have high blood sugars. For those with diabetes before transplant, the condition may be harder to manage. The medications that are taken to prevent rejection may cause blood sugars to go up.
We understand that diabetes affects each person differently. Because of this, we help create treatment programs for the special needs of each person. Individuals (pre- and post- transplant) and their families are welcome to contact the Transplant Diabetes Program and utilize the classes and programs provided.
Anxiety and Depression
A heart transplant is often a life changing surgery. It is common to experience a number of intense emotions--including depression and anxiety. These emotions can also be a side effect of some of your medications. Your clinical social worker and transplant psychiatrist can evaluate your situation and discuss ways to manage these issues.
