Heart transplant has a good prognosis despite difficult journey

A boy in his early teens was diagnosed with a fatal disease of the heart muscle but the condition then inexplicably went into remission. The condition reappeared when he was 17 which symptoms such as migraines, chest pains, difficulty breathing at night, stiff jaw and arm pains. Over the next three days he was misdiagnosed three times - he was told he had a cold, hernia and then anxiety attacks. Eventually they realized that his heart disorder had returned. When his heart started to race uncontrollably, he rushed to the hospital where he lost consciousness after his heart stopped. He became very ill and lost a lot of weight. 6 weeks later, he received heart transplant. Heart transplants were still relatively primitive then and immune-suppressant drugs were just starting to be used. Doctors unknowingly gave him 4 times the required dose. As a result, 7 years later the anti-rejection drugs had worn away tissue and caused polyps to form. He experienced pain and bleeding from his stomach and surgery was required to remove some of his small intestine. A year later kidney failure meant he required a kidney transplant. Now at the age of 42 he is a modern miracle and the 7th longest survivor of a heart transplant and he is able to work and lead a normal life. He has had the new heart for 24 years.

Source: summary of medical news story as reported by Napa News

Related Disease Topics:

• Heart disorder
• Heart muscle disease
• Cold
• Hernia
• Anxiety attack
• Heart transplant
• Kidney transplant
• Polyps

Related Symptom Topics:

• Migraine
• Chest pain
• Difficulty breathing at night
• Stiff jaw
• Arm pain
• Stomach pain
• Stomach bleeding

Article Source Details

About: Heart transplant has a good prognosis despite difficult journey

Date: 27 December 2004

Source: Napa News

Author: Jesse Wanamaker

URL: http://www.napanews.com/templates/index.cfm?template=story_full&id=AAE91951-AA6C-4367-BCA8-1FF597E0CA2A

Related Medical Topics

This summary article refers to the following medical categories:

• Death
• Death and heart disorder
• Death and heart muscle disorder
• Surgery and heart disorder
• Surgery and heart muscle disease
• Surgery and cold
• Surgery and hernia
• Surgery and anxiety attack
• Surgery and heart transplant
• Surgery and kidney transplant
• Surgery and migraine
• Surgery and chest pain
• Surgery and difficulty breathing at night
• Surgery and stiff jaw
• Surgery and arm pain
• Surgery and stomach pain
• Surgery and stomach bleeding
• Surgery
• Medication and heart disorder
• Medication and heart muscle disease
• Medication and cold
• Medication and hernia
• Medication and anxiety attack
• Medication and heart transplant
• Medication and kidney transplant
• Medication and migraine
• Medication and chest pain
• Medication and difficulty breathing at night
• Medication and stiff jaw
• Medication and arm pain
• Medication and stomach pain
• Medication and stomach bleeding
• Medication
• Misdiagnosis (type of Medical misadventure)
• Misdiagnosis and heart disorder
• Misdiagnosis and heart muscle disease
• Misdiagnosis and cold
• Misdiagnosis and hernia
• Misdiagnosis and anxiety attack
• Misdiagnosis and migraine
• Misdiagnosis and chest pain
• Misdiagnosis and difficulty breathing at night
• Misdiagnosis and stiff jaw
• Misdiagnosis and arm pain
• Diagnosis
• Diagnosis and heart disorder
• Diagnosis and heart muscle disease
• Diagnosis and cold
• Diagnosis and hernia
• Diagnosis and anxiety attack
• Diagnosis and migraine
• Diagnosis and chest pain
• Diagnosis and difficulty breathing at night
• Diagnosis and stiff jaw
• Diagnosis and arm pain
• Cause of stomach pain
• Cause of stomach bleeding
• Cause of polyps
• Medication and polyps

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