In brief
Former Vice President Dick Cheney's life was marked by a continuous struggle against heart disease, which played a crucial role in shaping discussions around heart health and organ transplants. His journey included five heart attacks, multiple surgeries, and ultimately a heart transplant in 2012, underscoring the pressing need for more transplantable organs as heart disease remains a leading cause of death. Despite the increasing number of transplants, many patients still face barriers due to organ shortages.
Former Vice President Dick Cheney battled heart disease for most of his adult life, a life extended thanks in part to a heart transplant in 2012.
Cheney, who died Monday due to complications of pneumonia and cardiac and vascular disease, had his first heart attack at the unusually young age of 37. He would go on to survive four more before his heart declined enough to qualify for that transplant.
Heart disease is the nation’s No. 1 killer, and Cheney’s decades of health problems illustrate how heart trouble can accumulate — as well as the varied treatments.
Cheney’s Heart History
Over the years, Cheney underwent quadruple bypass surgery to reroute blood flow around clogged heart arteries as well as less invasive artery-clearing angioplasties. He had a pacemaker implanted to monitor his heartbeat and experienced blood vessel problems in his legs.
Heart attacks damage the heart’s muscle, eventually making it harder to pump properly. After Cheney’s fifth heart attack in 2010, he acknowledged “increasing congestive heart failure.” He received another implant, a small pump called a “left ventricular assist device” or LVAD. That device took over the job of his heart’s main pumping chamber, powered by batteries worn in a fanny pack.
Cheney Had a Heart Transplant in 2012
Then in March 2012, at the age of 71, Cheney received a heart transplant. Like him, more than 70% of heart transplant recipients live at least five years, many longer. Cheney was older than a typical heart transplant recipient; most are between 50 and 64 years old. However, he was one of 362 people aged 65 or older who received a new heart in 2012, according to the U.S. Organ Procurement and Transplant Network (UNOS).
Heart Transplants Are Increasing, But Not Fast Enough
There’s a huge need for more transplantable hearts. Hundreds of thousands of adults suffer from advanced heart failure, yet many are never placed on the transplant list, in part due to the organ shortage. According to UNOS, 4,572 people received a heart transplant last year—a number that has gradually increased since Cheney’s surgery when there were 2,378 transplants in 2012. The number of recipients aged 65 or older has also risen, with 905 reported last year.
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