Frequency and pattern of left ventricular dysfunction in potential heart donors: Implications regarding use of dysfunctional hearts for successful transplantation

摘要

Cardiac transplantation is a widely accepted treatment for patients with advanced heart failure. Unfortunately only 1 in 8 hearts offered for donation is accepted for transplantation . Some donor hearts may be rejected due to left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVSD) noted on initial assessment . In our study, we sought to evaluate the frequency and pattern of LVSD as well as to determine change in left ventricular (LV) function over time in such patients. Acute brain injury (ABI) is the most frequent cause of death in potential donors, and LVSD is a well-reported abnormality in these patients . Systolic dysfunction has an incidence of up to 45% in patients with ABI and other neurological injuries (2,4,6,7). Left ventricular dysfunction in such a setting is often reversible over time and is postulated to be due to transient catecholamine surge that accompanies ABI, rather than coronary artery disease . We report a single-center series assessing the frequency and pattern of LVSD in potential heart donors.