The longest that someone has survived with a heart transplant was 39 years and 252 days which was Bert Janssen.
Bert Janssen had a heart transplant done in the year of 1984 at Harefield Hospital in England and he was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy at the age of 17 and was given just 6 months to live.
Another one of the world's longest surviving heart transplant patient is Susan Burkhart who was only 33 years old when she had a heart transplant and has survived so far for 42 years.
Another person who broke records for living a long time after a heart transplant is Leon Szewcyk who has so far lived 42 years after a heart transplant and now his daughter is gonna save his life again by donating one of her kidneys to him.
The reason why heart transplants only last 10 years in some cases is due to rejection, graft coronary artery disease, infections, kidney problems and other complications.
Heart transplants can last longer than 10 years in some cases and many actually do, but it depends on the person and the body's ability to accept the heart transplant.
Complications like weakened bones, malignancies and complications that are related to the heart transplant surgery itself can also factor into the life expectancy of transplanted heart.
Also long term use of immunosuppressants can affect a persons kidney function and may cause issues with the transplanted heart.
And immunosuppressant drugs can also increase the persons risk of infections, which can too be life threatening to a heart transplant patient.
And Graft Coronary Artery Disease which is a narrowing of the arteries in the transplanted heart can also develop and restrict blood flow and can cause the transplanted heart to fail, and even the body's own immune system can attack the new transplanted heart and cause it to fail, even when the heart transplant patient is taking immunosuppressant medications.
The median survival of heart transplant patients is 11.5 years although some heart transplant patients have lived 15 to 20 years and sometimes even longer.
The reason why heart transplant patients can't go in the ocean is mainly due to a risk of the heart transplant patient developing an infection from bacteria and other organisms that can be present in oceans.
When a person has a heart transplant they are also often taking immunosuppressant medications that are crucial for preventing organ rejection, including preventing rejection of the transplanted heart.
The immunosuppressant medications can and do weaken the patient's immune system, which makes the heart transplant patient more susceptible to illnesses from the germs that can be present in ocean waters.
Although you can still swim in the ocean if you prefer to do so but it's not recommended.
Heart transplant patients should swim in properly chlorinated pools or other water that is safer than ocean water.
However you should always wait until after you healed from the heart transplant and wait until the doctor or transplant team says it's okay.
Although doctors do say that a child or anyone else that has had a heart transplant can swim in the ocean or chlorinated pools after transplant.
Because the adults or child's immune system will forever be weakened after transplant, the doctors recommend that the adult or child does not swim in lakes or ponds as they are more likely to have bacteria or other organisms than oceans and pools, which could cause the adult or child to become sick.