A Change of Heart: Personality Metamorphosis After a Heart Transplant

Initially my sister and her husband thought it was just heartburn as he sat on the stairs with an intense grimace on his face, clutching his chest, and perspiring heavily. There was a debate whether he should take doses of Maalox, lie down and take it easy or seek emergency care immediately. .

After administering her husband almost an entire bottle Maalox without relief, they decided it was time to call an ambulance for emergency treatment. After a cursory assessment, it was apparent he suffered a heart attack. He never lost consciousness but displayed other signs of a heart attack such as increased sweating, numbness and tingling pain radiating down his left arm.

My brother-in-law exhibited a typical response to chest pain as most men, who are more prone to heart attacks than women are. Many men have died at home because of the self-diagnosis, indigestion.

Despite mass media education on the signs and symptoms of a heart attack, there is still an element of man's denial that they are experiencing anything as serious as a heart attack. Men like to feel they are immune to some illnesses even though many practice habits that surely guarantee heart diseases.

My brother-in-law was one who demanded control of all events that occurred in his home. He prohibited drinking alcoholic beverages, profanity and smoking as a strict rule. As deacon of his church, he attended more than once a week whether his family accompanied him or not.

His stepdaughter and her husband were addicted to crack cocaine; they were not allowed to stay at my sister's home so they resorted to sleeping in a park. Thanksgiving was an important holiday for my brother-in-law who believed in family togetherness, always leading with a prayer while holding hands before the big meal.

With his next heart attack, he actually required resuscitation. This time the only intervention that saved my brother-in-law was a heart transplant. The surgery was a success and his recovery was uneventful.

Approximately 3 months postoperative, my brother-in-law's personality changed drastically. All things he prohibited in his home were no longer taboo. He stopped going to church except on special holidays and when my sister insisted he attend. In addition, he resigned as deacon of the church.

His stepdaughter and her husband were allowed back in the home any time. My brother-in-law became lazy and stopped performing his home remodeling project. Not only did he begin to smoke and drink but he began to smoke crack cocaine!

My brother-in-law became so addicted to crack that unbeknownst to my sister, he took out a second mortgage on their home. His choice of friends also changed. Their marriage was severely strained with my sister seriously considering divorce. The only information we were able to glean about his new heart was the fact its donor was a 20 year old young man.

As expected, my brother-in-law succumbed to his last heart attack within one year of his heart transplant. One wonders if the heart was unfortunately donated to the wrong recipient who did not take proper care of it, treasure nor appreciate it. On the other hand, maybe anyone who received the heart personality was destined to change anyway but maybe not in this manner.

Who knows what type of lifestyle the donor lead but it is doubtful that he abused drugs to an extent to damage his heart. This is just one story of how a heart transplant recipient's personality changed after surgery.

There are instances of heart transplant recipients developing a taste for the same foods, a new love of sports, and music enjoyed by the donor. Research into this phenomenon would be very interesting. Is it changes of heart that metamorphose my brother-in-law's personality? What really changed his personality?