Palliative care for the cardiothoracic transplant recipient.

Palliative care is a multidisciplinary approach to management that is integral to the delivery of high-quality patient centered care for all cardiothoracic transplant recipients. Life as a heart or lung transplant patient is one filled with an array of physical and psychosocial experiences, periods of clinical acuity, as well as episodes of uncertainty. Structured support attending to physical and psychosocial needs as a means to improve the patient experience and support goal concordant care are palliative care practices that are central to the provision of care to the cardiothoracic transplant population.