Cardiac Allograft Vasculopathy in Redo-transplants: Is it More or Less the Same the Second Time Around?
Keywords:
Cardiac allograft vasculopathy, heart transplant, coronary angiography, immunosuppressionAbstract
Purpose: Cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV) continues to hinder the long-term success of heart transplant recipients. Redo-transplantation is currently the only definitive treatment for advanced CAV. We examined whether these patients are at similar CAV-risk with the second transplant
Methods: Heart recipients from 1985 to 2011 at the UTAH program were included in the study and those with CAV as an indication for redo-transplantation were identified. CAV diagnosis was made by coronary angiography and based on the 2010 ISHLT standardized nomenclature for CAV. Patient demographics, rejection history, and CAV incidence were analyzed.
Results: Of the 1,169 eligible patients, 135 (11.5%) developed CAV post their first transplant; 78 cases within 10 years and 54 beyond 10 years. The mean time to CAV was 6.58 years. Of the 135 patients who developed CAV, only 21 (15.5%) ended up requiring a redo-transplant. Of the 21 retransplanted patients, 4 (19.0%) developed CAV again; 2 patients within 10 years and 2 patients beyond 10 years indicating a similar risk for CAV occurrence for first and redo-transplant.
Conclusions: Our results indicate that CAV is as likely to develop in redo-transplants despite recent advances in immunosuppression and the standardized use of lipid-lowering agents. Although outcomes in redo-transplantation for the indication of CAV are favorable, efforts to better understand and minimize CAV are needed, especially in the face of scarce donor organs.Downloads
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