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Heart Transplant, Social Support, and Psychiatric Sequelae: A 10-Year Follow-Up Clinical Case Review

Received January 28, 2007; revised March 25, 2007; accepted April 2, 2007. From Regional Mental Health Care–St. Thomas, ON, Canada, and the Dept. of Psychiatry, Division of Geriatric Psychiatry, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada. Send correspondence and reprint requests to Ana Hategan, M.D., RMHC–St. Thomas, 467 Sunset Dr., St. Thomas, ON, Canada. e-mail: Ana.Hategan{at}sjhc.london.on.ca
©2008 The Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine

The authors document a case of a 65-year-old heart transplant recipient at 10-year follow-up, with particular reference to his psychiatric recovery. This case illustrates the importance of social support as both an acute intervention and for long-term maintenance in the heart-transplant patient with psychiatric and multiple medical conditions. It was found that the influence of social support on transplant recovery may be affected by critical periods, including initial postoperative stabilization and convalescence, and then again with longer-term changes in social roles. Enhanced collaboration between cardiac transplant teams and mental health professionals is warranted.

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