Posttransplant Long-Term Outcomes for Patients with Ventricular Assist Devices on the Heart Transplant Waitlist

Ventricular assist devices (LVADs) are commonly used in end-stage heart failure for mechanical circulatory support as a bridge to heart transplantation. However, LVADs’ long-term effects on posttransplant survival are unknown. We sought to compare long-term mortality after transplantation for patients with and without LVADs. Using the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network database, we investigated LVADs’ impact on long-term (3 month, 1 year, 2 years, 5 years, and 8 years) posttransplant mortality risk for all heart transplant recipients between 2010 and 2019. Time-to-event regression analysis quantified mortality risk by LVAD status in both unconditional and conditional survival analyses. Of 20,113 transplant recipients, 8,999 (45%) had a LVAD while on the waitlist. Among those who died after transplantation, patients with LVADs on average died sooner (1.8 years) than patients without LVADs (3.0 years; p
Source: ASAIO Journal - Category: Medical Devices Tags: Adult Circulatory Support Source Type: research