Dr. Craig Smith - Who Is a Candidate for a Heart Transplant?

Dr. Craig Smith - Who Is a Candidate for a Heart Transplant? (0:31)

A variety of medications and other treatments can do wonders for a failing heart, but there are times when they're not enough. In this video, cardiothoracic surgeon Craig Smith explains when a heart transplant is the only option.

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Patients who are candidates for heart transplantation have escaped the more conventional simpler treatments for a failing heart. Heart failure is the underlying condition although there are things we can do to treat heart failure when certainly the left ventricle off on the right reached a point of failure that they can't be improved by surgery, by medications and transplantation becomes the only logical option.

Craig Smith, MD

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About Craig Smith, MD

Craig Smith, MD, a leading cardiac surgeon, is the chairman of surgery at Columbia University and chief of cardiothoracic sSurgery. He is double board-certified by the American Board of Thoracic Surgery and the American Board of Surgery.

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Dr. Craig Smith - Who Is a Candidate for a Heart Transplant?