title: Stenting unprotected left main coronary artery stenosis in heart transplant patients--the good, bad, and the ugly.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Lifelink Transplant Institute, Tampa, Florida 33606, USA.
authors.forename: M W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Weston
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Spoto
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sommers
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sears
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Novitzky
mesh_terms: 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