After Transplant
You will begin learning all about your new heart, how to take care of it, how to prevent infection, your medications, and your clinic and lab schedule. The coordinators, pharmacists and nurses will teach you how to take care of yourself now that you have your new heart. You will receive a Post Transplant Manual. THIS IS YOUR LIFE LONG GUIDE. The Transplant Coordinator will come to your room to review the content of the manual, answer questions, and review your medications.
Patients will be expected to stay in the Salt Lake City area for six months after transplant. This is the time of greatest risk of infection. Frequent clinic visits, biopsies, blood draws, and echos are needed in order to monitor your for rejection and to adjust medication doses. If you have not had any complications after six months, you can then return to your regular cardiologist. We will continue to follow your lab test results and see you as needed in clinic. Communicating with your primary care physician is an important part of the transition and the Heart Transplant team is available to answer any questions that may arise.
