Stenting unprotected left main coronary artery stenosis in heart transplant patients--the good, bad, and the ugly.
The major cause of late death following orthotopic heart transplantation is coronary artery vasculopathy. Approximately 50% of heart transplant patients have coronary artery vasculopathy 5 years post-transplantation. With advances in interventional cardiology technology, heart transplant patients with selected lesions are now undergoing intravascular stenting with acute-gain and late-loss rates similar to stenting in non-transplanted patients. We describe 3 consecutive cases of stenting unprotected left main coronary artery disease in orthotropic heart transplant patients. With follow-up to 3 years and no evidence of restenosis, these results suggest that stenting unprotected left main coronary artery lesions in heart transplant patients can be performed with excellent immediate and long-term results.
Weston
M W
MW
Lifelink Transplant Institute, Tampa, Florida 33606, USA.
Spoto
E
E
Sommers
E
E
Sears
N
N
Novitzky
D
D
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D023921:Coronary Stenosis / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D016027:Heart Transplantation; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D015607:Stents