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Psychosocial problems of donor heart recipients adversely affecting quality of life
B Bunzel1, G Wollenek, A Grundböck
1Second Department of Surgery, University Hospital Vienna, Austria.
Insights
Heart transplantation offers improved quality of life but presents significant psychosocial challenges for patients and families. Addressing these pre- and post-operative stressors is crucial for successful recovery and well-being.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Psychology
- Transplantation Medicine
Background:
- Heart transplantation is a life-saving therapy for end-stage heart failure.
- While survival rates improve, significant psychosocial challenges persist for patients and their families.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify and analyze the key psychosocial stressors experienced by heart transplant recipients.
- To provide insights into minimizing these challenges for better patient outcomes.
Main Methods:
- Qualitative interviews were conducted with 47 heart transplant patients.
- Analysis focused on identifying pre- and post-operative psychosocial issues.
Main Results:
- Pre-operative stressors include diagnosis communication, waiting periods, decision-making doubts, and donor-related guilt.
- Post-operative challenges involve social reintegration, interpersonal reactions, managing rejection, and family life adjustments.
Conclusions:
- Heart transplant recipients face profound psychosocial difficulties throughout their journey.
- Interventions aimed at mitigating these stressors can enhance patient and family adaptation and well-being.
Abstract:
Heart transplantation has become an accepted therapy for patients suffering from terminal heart disease for whom neither standard forms of medication nor the usual surgery are of any benefit. Although results regarding postoperative quantity and quality of life are encouraging, it must not be overlooked that the patient and his family face, and have to overcome, profound psychosocial problems. The main stressors were identified in interviews with 47 heart transplant patients. The main preoperative problems were: the way of being informed about the diagnosis, the waiting period for transplantation, anguishing doubts about the decision to have a transplant, being a body without heart ('zombie'), guilt and shame regarding the donor, the reactions of others. Postoperatively the patients have to cope with: re-entering social systems, reactions of friends, neighbours and colleagues, rejection episodes, death of a fellow patient, the need to redesign family life. All the problems reported by the patients interviewed are discussed regarding their psychosocial implications, and hints are given on how to minimize them.