Thirty years ago, just over 33% of people on waiting lists for heart transplants lived for a year or more.
A heart transplant is necessary for people whose diseased hearts no longer can function on their own.
Now, UPI reports a new study reveals more than two-thirds of such people on waiting lists survive for at least one year until a donor organ becomes available.
In the decades of evolution and growth since heart transplantation began as a field, patients have a greater chance of living longer while waiting for a heart transplant. Elizabeth Godfrey Study Co-Author Baylor College of Medicine
Research suggests more than 7,000 Americans are on waiting lists for donor hearts, but just over 3,000 transplant procedures are performed nationally each year.
