Heart and Lung Transplant (cont.)

Self-Care at Home

Heart and lung transplantations are very complicated procedures with many possible complications after you leave the hospital. Both you and your family must keep close contact with your primary care provider and your transplant team to increase your likelihood of recovery.

You can return to work or school, but you should resume normal activities gradually. The majority of patients who receive a heart or lung transplant unfortunately can never resume their previous work on a full-time basis due to the rigorous demands of postoperative monitoring.

You must make lifestyle changes to ensure that your new heart stays healthy. An organized rehabilitation program will help you make these changes.

• You will be enrolled in an exercise program.
  
  
• You will learn to choose foods that are healthy for your heart.
  
  
• If you smoke, you will be given help to quit.
  
  
• Routine evaluation of the kidney, liver, and other organs will be made to ensure that no side effects from drugs occur.

Proper dental care is essential, because you can get infections from oral bacteria and become very ill. You must take antibiotics before undergoing any dental procedures to prevent infection.

Rejection of a transplant is the most serious complication of a transplant. For this reason, you must keep a log of the following:

• Temperature
  
  
• Weight
  
  
• Blood pressure
  
  
• Heart rate and rhythm
  
  
• Urine check for sugar and acetone
  
  
• Stool check for unseen blood
  
  
• Shortness of breath
  
  
• Cough
  
  
• Sputum production
  
  
• Urine output

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