Living with a heart transplant: long-term adjustment.

The number of heart transplants performed worldwide has increased greatly in the past 10 years, and survival rates will continue to improve with the introduction of new immunosuppressive therapies. With this improved lifespan outlook, the experience of living with a heart transplant needs to be understood as a chronic condition. Twenty-nine recipients who were a minimum of 5 months post-transplantation (mean 22 months) and 23 significant others were interviewed twice 6 months apart using close-ended and open-ended questions developed from the Common Sense Model of health beliefs. Results suggest that although life improved for the majority post-transplantation, recipients continue to experience work problems, financial burdens, family role changes, lifestyle changes, and side effects associated with long-term drug treatment.