Donor-transmitted coronary atherosclerosis.
BACKGROUND
Autopsies show that coronary atherosclerosis is present frequently in the young and healthy. However, according to our former guideline, we performed pre-transplant evaluation without coronary angiogram in donors <60 years. The purpose of this study is to evaluate to what extent native coronary atherosclerosis is transmitted through heart transplantation.


METHODS
Between April 1986 and December 2000, a total of 1253 patients underwent heart transplantation at our institution. If coronary evaluation with coronary angiogram or autopsy had been performed within 6 months after transplantation, we regarded focal and non-circumferential atherosclerosis with >or=50% stenosis in proximal segments of at least 1 coronary vessel of the donor heart as transmitted, native coronary atherosclerosis, rather than newly developed transplant vasculopathy.


RESULTS
We excluded 85 of 1253 (6.8%) cases because coronary evaluation was not performed within 6 months (n = 45) or because hearts underwent angiography during pre-transplant evaluation (n = 40). Of these, 2 patients with significant coronary atherosclerosis underwent transplantation and concurrent coronary artery bypass grafting. The prevalence of significant (stenosis >or=50%) and inadvertently transmitted coronary atherosclerosis was 7.0% (82/1168).


CONCLUSIONS
The prevalence of coronary atherosclerosis in patients who underwent angiography within 6 months after transplantation was 5.2% (49/950). Among subjects who had autopsies within the first 6 months after heart transplantation, we found significant coronary atherosclerosis (stenosis >or=50%) 15.1% (33/218), and among those with early graft failure (<10 days after transplantation), the prevalence was 22.8% (26/114). The prevalence of coronary atherosclerosis in the donor pool is high, and donor screening without coronary angiogram overlooks significant coronary atherosclerotic lesions (stenosis >or=50%) in a considerable number of cases (7.0%). Because donor-transmitted coronary atherosclerosis is a risk factor in short-term (early graft failure) survival after heart transplantation, we have now changed our policy to include coronary angiography as a standard in screening donors >or=40 years. However, to what extent donor coronary atherosclerosis is accepted undoubtedly must be made arbitrarily until an evidence-based algorithm becomes available.
Department of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery, Deutsches Herzzentrum Berlin, Berlin, Germany. grauhan@dhzb.de
Onnen
O
Grauhan
Johannes
J
Patzurek
Manfred
M
Hummel
Hans
H
Lehmkuhl
Michael
M
Dandel
Miralem
M
Pasic
Yuguo
Y
Weng
Roland
R
Hetzer
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D017023:Coronary Angiography; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D003331:Coronary Vessels / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D016027:Heart Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014019:Tissue Donors; D019737:Transplants