Worldwide, about 5,000 heart transplants are performed annually. The vast majority of these are performed within the United States each year. The heart transplant or cardiac transplant, is done because it is a surgical transplant procedure performed on patients with end-stage heart failure or severe coronary artery disease. It is now the most common procedure to use where a doctor will take a working heart from a recently deceased organ donor (cadaveric allograft) and implant it into the patient. The patient's own heart is either removed (orthotopic procedure) or, less commonly, left in place to support the donor heart (heterotopic procedure).

Post operation survival periods still vary but average about 15 years. Heart transplantation is not considered to be a cure for heart disease, but a life saving treatment intended to improve the quality of life for recipients.

More Info: www.uptodate.com