Donor-transmitted Atherosclerosis Associated with Worsening Cardiac Allograft Vasculopathy After Heart Transplantation: Serial Volumetric Intravascular Ultrasound Analysis.

Background: The influence of preexisting donor-transmitted atherosclerosis (DA) on cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV) development remains unclear. Methods: We performed 3-dimensional intravascular ultrasound (3D-IVUS) analysis in 42 heart transplant (HTx) recipients at 2.1+/-0.9 months (baseline) and 12.2+/-0.4 months post-HTx, as well as consecutive 3D-IVUS analyses up to 3 years post-HTx in 35 of the 42 recipients. DA was defined as a maximal intimal thickness (MIT) >=0.5 mm at baseline. Changes in volumetric IVUS parameters were compared in recipients with (DA group) and without DA (DA-free group) at baseline, 1 year and 3 years post-HTx. Results: DA was observed in 57.1% of 42 recipients. The DA group exhibited a significantly greater increase in plaque volume at 1 year post-HTx (P

from #ENT via xlomafota13 on Inoreader http://ift.tt/2akcjAm
via IFTTT