S8 Ep. 8: The long and winding road, part 1 (Anaesthesia for post-heart-transplant patients)

Deep Breaths

Today, in part 1 of our 2 part series on anaesthesia for previous heart transplant recipients, we discuss the care of these patients for non-cardiac surgery with special guest, Dr Ivan Rapchuk.
We start our discussion with a review of how to assess whether these patients are suitable for elective surgery, and follow this with a deep-dive on the typical immunosuppressant medications that these patients may be taking, as well as their mechanism of action and side effects.
Resources for this episode:
Oxford Handbook of Transplant Anaesthesia and Critical Care
BJAED: Anaesthesia for a patient with a cardiac transplant (2002) by Morgan-Hughes, N. & Hood, G.
Circulation (2004): Drug therapy in the heart transplant recipient by Lindenfeld, J. et al.
Indian Journal of Anaesthesia: Post cardiac transplant recipient: Implications for anaesthesia by M. Choudhury
RCEM India Learning - The ECG after cardiac transplantation
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