Cor Vasa 2003, 44(6):299-303
Incidence of coronary atherosclerosis in the population of heart donors
- 1 Klinika kardiologie
- 2 Klinika kardiovaskulární chirurgie, Institut klinické a experimentální medicíny, Praha, Česká republika
Introduction:
Orthotopic heart transplantation (OHT) is the established method for the management of end stage heart failure. Although data indicate a high incidence of coronary atherosclerosis (CA) in the young asymptomatic population, the prevalence of CA in heart donors in the Czech population has not been studied to date.
Patients and methods:
The study group included 51 patients after OHT (mean age 51.06 ± 9.77 years, 82% of males, 18% of females), who had intravascular coronary ultrasound performed in the early post-OHT period. Donors were 41 males and 10 females with a mean age of 33.22 ± 11.83 years.
Results:
CA transferred from donors was demonstrated in 19 patients undergoing OHT (37% of cases). The mean age of donors with documented CA was significantly higher compared with that of other donors.
Conclusion:
Our study suggests a relatively high prevalence of CA in a highly selected population of heart donors accepted for OHT.
Keywords: Orthotopic heart transplantation; Coronary atherosclerosis; Intravascular coronary ultrasound
Published: June 1, 2003 Show citation