In fact it's become quite a routine operation, so much so that Joburg businessman Wally Katzke volunteered to have his transplant filmed in live real time TV at the Milpark hospital on the evening of 2 August 2008.
Katzke did this in a bid to get South Africans to think about their lifestyle habits, because this was precisely what had landed him in hospital in critical need of a heart transplant, or face certain death.
According to Dr James Arens, clinical operations executive of Pro Sano Medical Scheme, "We live in an era where our entertainment comes from TV and computer games, and our diets are largely made up of take-aways, washed down by fizzy drinks. In addition, far too many people still smoke, despite knowing the horrifying associated dangers."
As Heart and Stroke Foundation SA spokeswoman Michelle Kearney notes: "If South Africans continue to consume a diet which is too high in kilojoules, salt, animal fat, refined carbohydrates, processed foods and added sugar, coupled with predominantly inactive lifestyles, none of this is good news for their hearts."
Cardiologist Dr Graham Cassel said the "Meet Wally's Heart" project tried to get the message across that heart disease was no longer fatal, and if people simply changed their lifestyles, they could live long, healthy and rewarding lives.
"Eating badly, drinking, smoking, not exercising, being overweight or obese, poorly controlled diabetes - these are some of the major problems that we have in modern society," he said. The challenge is to make people aware of the problem and of the grave risks of poor lifestyle habits.
A heart attack occurs when the blood to the heart is restricted because of narrowed veins, either because of cholesterol build-up or because a clot has dislodged from the vein wall and is restricting the blood flow. Heart attacks can also lead to cardiac arrest, where the heart stops altogether and has to be restarted by resuscitation measures if caught in time. If this isn't done quickly, brain damage from oxygen deprivation sets in after about four minutes, with death after around ten.
"But you can prevent getting there in the first place by stopping smoking, losing weight if you are on the tubby side, exercising and keeping an eye on your cholesterol and blood pressure levels. It's also vitally important to watch your stress levels," says Dr Arens, who believes South Africa's recent recession, with the resultant increase in stress levels might have been a factor in the recent increases in private health care cost.
"It seems as though money worries and job insecurity are making people sicker and leading to increased hospitalisation and medical treatment," he says.
According to Arens, a number of medical schemes have recorded a spike in claims over the past year. Pro Sano Medical Scheme has seen an increase specifically in cardiovascular illness, such as hypertension, strokes and heart attacks, as well as depression.
