What to Expect at Your Heart Transplant and Ventricular Assist Device Evaluation
Our multidisciplinary transplant team will assess your condition and recommend the best course of treatment
When you have been referred to the Miami Transplant Institute, you can expect a comprehensive evaluation to determine the best course of treatment. An early analysis of your heart condition is desirable because it can lead to better long-term outcomes.
Individual Evaluations
Every patient considering a heart transplant or VAD is evaluated on an individual basis. Typically, an evaluation includes an update of your health history, multiple blood tests, urine tests, chest x-ray, EKG, heart function testing, a physical examination, an assessment by a social worker, an insurance review by our financial counselor, and additional testing as needed.
Many patients with heart failure have other chronic medical conditions, such as high blood pressure. Fortunately, a transplant can be an effective treatment, even if you have other problems.
Reviewing the Results
When the evaluation is completed, our institute’s multidisciplinary heart transplant team will review the results of your tests, procedures, and consultations. They may decide that further testing or other treatments are needed or recommend medical management, a ventricular assist device (VAD), a total artificial heart, or a heart transplant.
If you are approved for transplantation, you will be placed on the national waiting list of the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS). Heart recipients are matched to potential donors according to blood type, tissue type, size, and severity of heart disease.
Finally, it’s time for the surgery process to begin.
Description
When you have been referred to the Miami Transplant Institute, you can expect a comprehensive evaluation to determine the best course of treatment. An early analysis of your heart condition is desirable because it can lead to better long-term outcomes.
Individual Evaluations
Every patient considering a heart transplant or VAD is evaluated on an individual basis. Typically, an evaluation includes an update of your health history, multiple blood tests, urine tests, chest x-ray, EKG, heart function testing, a physical examination, an assessment by a social worker, an insurance review by our financial counselor, and additional testing as needed.
Many patients with heart failure have other chronic medical conditions, such as high blood pressure. Fortunately, a transplant can be an effective treatment, even if you have other problems.
Reviewing the Results
When the evaluation is completed, our institute’s multidisciplinary heart transplant team will review the results of your tests, procedures, and consultations. They may decide that further testing or other treatments are needed or recommend medical management, a ventricular assist device (VAD), a total artificial heart, or a heart transplant.
If you are approved for transplantation, you will be placed on the national waiting list of the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS). Heart recipients are matched to potential donors according to blood type, tissue type, size, and severity of heart disease.
Finally, it’s time for the surgery process to begin.
