Getting Old With a New Heart: Impact of Age on Depression and Quality of Life in Long-term Heart Transplant Recipients

In the light of our findings, older age does not seem to negatively affect the mental component of quality of life in the long term after heart transplantation, but it does on the physical component, as expected. On the other hand, it may be even associated with a lower prevalence of depressive symptoms more than 10 years after surgery. Hence, age per se does not represent a major limiting factor when considering candidates for this procedure, at least with regard to the issue of psychologic distress.