Vanderbilt Heart

Vanderbilt's first heart transplant was in April 1985; today we perform about 20 transplants each year for adults and children. The program's total experience exceeds 500 heart transplants.

What is a heart transplant?
A heart transplant is a surgical procedure that removes the diseased heart and replaces it with a healthy one from an organ donor.  In order for a heart to be removed from a donor, two or more doctors must declare the donor brain-dead.

Before a patient can be put on a waiting list for a heart transplant, a doctor must certify that there is no other effective treatment available. The process takes a team effort from start to finish. Our heart transplant teams consist of doctors, nurses, dietitians, social workers and cardiac rehabilitation specialists, all working together for the good of the patient.

Learn more at the Vanderbilt Transplant site.

A leader in heart failure treatment and transplant
Vanderbilt Heart has extensive experience treating patients with heart failure and advanced cardiomyopathies.  Our team includes cardiac and transplant surgeons, specially trained and certified cardiologists, nurse practitioners, social workers, dieticians, psychologists, pharmacists and infectious disease doctors. Many studies have shown that this multidisciplinary approach makes for better outcomes and improved quality of life for our patients. Our rehabilitation services are among the best in the country for transplant patients.

Providers
John G. Byrne, M.D. - Chairman, Cardiac Surgery