Influence of Donor Transmitted and Rapidly Progressive Coronary Vascular Disease on Long-Term Outcomes After Heart Transplantation: A Contemporary Intravascular Ultrasound Analysis

Background: Donor-transmitted atherosclerosis (DTA) and rapidly progressive cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV) at 1 year are intravascular ultrasound (IVUS)-derived measures shown to predict adverse cardiovascular outcomes in the setting of early generation immunosuppressive agents. Given the paucity of data on the prognostic value of IVUS-derived measurements in the current era, we sought to explore their association with adverse outcomes after heart transplantation.

Methods and results: This is a retrospective cohort analysis of patients who underwent heart transplantation at our center between January 2009 and June 2016 with baseline and 1-year IVUS. Five IVUS sections were prospectively analyzed for intimal thickness and lumen area. DTA was defined as maximum intimal thickness of 0.5 mm or greater at baseline, and rapidly progressive CAV as an increase in maximum intimal thickness by 0.5 mm or more at 1 year. Our primary analysis assessed the relationship of IVUS and other clinical data on a composite outcome: coronary intervention, CAV stage 2 or 3 (defined by the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation 2010 nomenclature), or cardiovascular death. Among 249 patients (mean age 51.0 ± 12.2 years and 74.3% male) included in the analysis, DTA was detected in 118 patients (51.4%). Over a median follow-up of 6.1 years (interquartile range 4.2-8.0 years), 45 patients met the primary end point (23 percutaneous coronary intervention, 11 CAV 2 or 3, and 11 cardiovascular deaths as first event). DTA and rapidly progressive CAV were not associated with the primary end point, all-cause mortality, or retransplantation. In an additional analysis including post-transplant events, incident rejection was strongly associated with poor outcomes, although cytomegalovirus infection was not.

Conclusions: In this contemporary cohort, IVUS-derived DTA and rapidly progressive CAV were not associated with medium- to long-term adverse events after heart transplantation.