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Former Vice President Dick Cheney battled heart disease for most of his adult life, and a heart transplant in 2012 extended his life.
Cheney, who died Monday of complications from pneumonia and cardiovascular disease, suffered his first heart attack at the unusually young age of 37. He has four more years to live before his heart is weak enough to undergo a transplant.
Heart disease is the No. 1 killer in the United States, and Cheney's decades-long health problems show how heart disease accumulates and the different treatments available.
Cheney's Heart History
Over the years, Cheney has undergone quadruple bypass surgery to reroute blood flow around clogged heart arteries and angioplasty, a less invasive procedure to remove arteries. He had a pacemaker implanted to monitor his heartbeat. He also had problems with blood vessels in his legs.
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A heart attack damages the heart muscle, eventually making it difficult to pump properly. After Mr. Cheney suffered his fifth heart attack in 2010, he acknowledged that his “congestive heart failure was increasing.” He received another implant, a small pump called a “left ventricular assist device” (LVAD). The device, powered by a battery attached to his fanny pack, took over the role of his heart's primary pumping chamber.
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Mr. Cheney underwent a heart transplant in 2012.
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Then, in March 2012, at age 71, Cheney underwent a heart transplant. Like him, more than 70 percent of heart transplant recipients live at least five years or more. Cheney was older than the typical heart transplant patient. Most are between 50 and 64 years old. But he was one of 362 people over the age of 65 to receive a new heart in 2012, according to the U.S. Organ Procurement and Transplant Network (OPTN).
Heart transplants are increasing, but not fast enough
More transplantable hearts are desperately needed. Hundreds of thousands of adults suffer from advanced heart failure, but many are not on transplant lists due to organ shortages. According to the Organ Network, 4,572 people received heart transplants last year. That number has gradually increased since Cheney's transplant, with 2,378 transplants performed in 2012. The number of recipients aged 65 and older has increased as well, reaching 905 last year.
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