First heart transplant recipient discharged from Almaty Cardiology Center

The patient, diagnosed with end-stage chronic heart failure, had previously been included in Kazakhstan’s national heart transplant waiting list. The operation lasted more than five hours and was successfully carried out by a multidisciplinary team from the Almaty City Cardiology Center in cooperation with specialists from the University Medical Center (UMC) in Astana and was led by Cardiology Center Director Yermagambet Kuatbayev and Chairman of the UMC Board, Professor Yuri Pya.

According to the Almaty city administration, the donor was a 50-year-old woman with a severe form of arterial hypertension who suffered a stroke.

"Following emergency hospitalization at the Central City Clinical Hospital of Almaty, a panel of doctors determined brain death and confirmed the possibility of posthumous donation. The relatives gave consent, after which the donation process was organized," the Akimat shared.

Following discharge, the patient will remain under regular medical supervision at his local clinic. The city administration noted that the patient expressed gratitude to the doctors and medical staff for their professionalism, also adding that all medical services were provided free of charge by the state.

The patient also shared a personal message, warning about the potential dangers of excessive energy drink consumption.

“I want to warn people: don't drink energy drinks. That's where it all started for me. At first, it was one bottle a day, then 8-10 energy drinks daily. I didn't think anything of it until I was diagnosed with a serious illness. I'm alive today thanks to the doctors who did everything they could. Now I understand how important it is to take care of your health,” he said.

Earlier, Qazinform reported that financial strain and food insecurity may accelerate heart aging more than some traditional medical risk factors.