Denervated, or transplanted, heart is not a disease and is something of a misnomer. The denervated heart is a heart that has been donated and transplanted. In this case, “denervated” means the transplanted heart is not under the control of the recipient’s autonomic nervous system and brain; instead, the heart rate is determined completely by the intrinsic rate(s) of the allograft heart. The atrioventricular node is predominately the rate controller for this heart because the sinus node is often irreparably damaged in the transplant process.

About 1% of the population with end-stage congestive heart failure receive a donor heart.

Transplants are reserved for patients with end-stage congestive heart failure who have a prognosis of less than 1 year to survive without replacement of the damaged heart.