Impact of donor and recipient sex on outcome:

Predictors of Hypertension Development 1 Y After Heart Transplantation

BACKGROUND

Hypertension after heart transplantation (HTx) is common. We investigated predictors of and mechanisms for hypertension development during the first year after HTx, with particular attention toward immunosuppressive agents, reinnervation processes, and donor/recipient sex.

METHODS

Heart transplant recipients (HTxRs) were consecutively enrolled 7 to 12 wk after surgery and followed prospectively for 12 mo. Ambulatory blood pressure recordings and autonomic cardiovascular control assessments were performed at baseline and follow-up. Possible predictors of posttransplant hypertension development were investigated in bivariate linear regression analyses followed by multiple regression modeling.

RESULTS

A total of 50 HTxRs were included; 47 attended the follow-up appointment at 12 mo. Mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure increased significantly during the observational period (systolic blood pressure from 133 to 139 mm Hg, P = 0.007; diastolic blood pressure from 81 to 84 mm Hg, P = 0.005). The blood pressure increment was almost exclusively confined to HTxRs with a female donor heart, doubling the cases of systolic hypertension (from 6 to 13/14; 46% to 93%, P = 0.031) and diastolic hypertension (from 7 to 14/14; 54% to 100%, P = 0.031) in this subgroup. Autonomic cardiovascular control assessments suggested tonically constricted resistance and capacitance vessels in recipients with female donor hearts. Immunosuppressive agents and reinnervation markers were not associated with hypertension development.

CONCLUSIONS

Blood pressures increase during the first year after HTx, with female donor sex as a strong predictor of recipient hypertension development. The underlying mechanism seems to be enhanced peripheral vasoconstriction caused by attenuated cardiovascular homeostasis capabilities. Further studies are needed to confirm the results.

Extended donor criteria in heart transplantation: a retrospective study from a single Chinese institution

Background

Heart donor selection criteria have been progressively widened due to increasing donor recipient mismatch. This study evaluates the outcomes of the use marginal donor hearts for orthotopic heart transplantation (OHT) based on a single center experience in China.

Methods

We retrospectively analyzed outcomes of patients undergoing OHT in our hospital between September 2008 and December 2015. All the donor hearts were from voluntary donation of brain-dead patients. The primary outcome was overall survival; secondary outcomes included cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) time, ventilation time, post-operative mechanical support and medium-term complications.

Results

Overall, 278 patients with OHT were analyzed. Whereas 180 patients (64.7%) underwent OHT utilizing marginal donors (MD group), only 98 patients (35.3%) underwent OHT with standard donors (SD group). Compared to the SD group, the MD group had longer CPB time (P=0.001), ventilation time (P=0.010) and increased mechanical support rate (P=0.011). Survival rates were comparable between the two groups at 30 days, 1 year, 3 years and 5 years (92.2%, 83.3%, 70.6%, 70.6% vs. 95.9%, 91.4%, 80.2%, 80.2% respectively). Multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed that female recipient gender [hazard ratio (HR) =2.632 (1.325-5.227), P=0.006], diagnosis (P=0.014) and abnormal donor heart structure [HR =3.638 (1.005-13.167), P=0.049] were three predictors for 1-year all-cause mortality. The occurrence of complications in the recipients with more than 3-year follow-up did not differ between the two cohorts.

Conclusions

Marginal donor can be reasonably applied to expand the benefits of transplantation. Changing previous MD criteria to include donors with an age greater than 50 years, cold ischemic time less than 6 hours, donor/recipient weight ratio less than 0.8, compatible blood type, hepatitis virus seropositivity and MD used for male recipient will likely offer a good prognosis.

Donor/recipient sex mismatch and survival after heart transplantation: only an issue in male recipients? An analysis of the Spanish Heart Transplantation Registry

The results of studies on the association between sex mismatch and survival after heart transplantation are conflicting. Data from the Spanish Heart Transplantation Registry. From 4625 recipients, 3707 (80%) were men. The donor was female in 943 male recipients (25%) and male in 481 female recipients (52%). Recipients of male hearts had a higher body mass index (25.9 ± 4.1 vs. 24.3 ± 3.7; P < 0.01), and male donors were younger than female donors (33.4 ± 12.7 vs. 38.2 ± 12.3; P < 0.01). No further relevant differences related to donor sex were detected. In the univariate analysis, mismatch was associated with mortality in men (hazard ratio [HR], 1.18; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.06-1.32; P = 0.003) but not in women (HR, 0.91; 95% CI 0.74-1.12; P = 0.4). A significant interaction was detected between sex mismatch and recipient gender (P = 0.02). In the multivariate analysis, sex mismatch was associated with long-term mortality (HR, 1.14; 95% CI 1.01-1.29; P = 0.04), and there was a tendency toward significance for the interaction between sex mismatch and recipient gender (P = 0.08). In male recipients, mismatch increased mortality mainly during the first month and in patients with pulmonary gradient >13 mmHg. Sex mismatch seems to be associated with mortality after heart transplantation in men but not in women.