Sentara is committed to providing you with lifesaving care that helps you lead a better quality of life. We are known for our expertise in performing heart transplant procedures, as well as kidney and pancreas transplants.
During this procedure, our transplant and cardiovascular teams replace the diseased heart with a healthy heart from a donor. You receive the highest level of care from a team of specialists to ensure that every part of your care is managed successfully. Some of the members of your team will include:
- Advanced heart failure cardiologists
- Heart transplant surgeons
- Infectious disease specialists
- Immunologists (doctors who diagnose and treat disorders of the immune system)
- Transplant coordinators
- Patient navigators
- Pharmacists
- Social workers
At Sentara, we provide compassionate, expert care and innovative treatments throughout your transplant journey, including:
We offer the latest left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) to help your failing heart pump blood. We may recommend an LVAD if you have end-stage heart failure.
LVADs are mechanical pumps that we implant into your chest. The battery-operated device assists the main pumping chamber of your heart and supports your heart in pumping blood throughout your body.
Depending on your health, an LVAD may:
- Provide critical support until a donor heart is available. You may hear the LVAD called bridge-to-transplant therapy in this case.
- Support the heart long-term if you are not a candidate for a heart transplant or you do not wish to have one. Under this circumstance, we call the LVAD a destination therapy.
Your procedure takes place in a cardiothoracic operating room that is specially equipped for heart transplant surgery.
During your surgery, your transplant team makes an incision at the center of your chest and connects you to a heart-lung bypass machine to keep blood pumping throughout your body. After removing the diseased heart, they implant the donor heart, connect it to the blood vessels and use an electric shock to start the donor heart, if needed.
You recover in a cardiac intensive care unit staffed by professionals with advanced training in transplant care. You stay on a ventilator to help you breathe and receive medication to help you manage pain.
For several months, you receive post-transplant treatment at Sentara care sites. Follow-up care is important to make sure your heart is working properly.
This care includes:
- Prescribing immunosuppressants and infection-fighting medications: Immunosuppressants are medications that decrease your immune system's response so it doesn't attack your new heart. Because the medication leads to a weaker immune system, we may prescribe other medication to treat bacterial, viral or fungal infections.
- Creating a schedule for your maintenance medications: We help you develop and follow a sustainable schedule so you remember to take your medications every day.
Call 1-800-SENTARA (1-800-736-8272) to learn more.