Coronary flow reserve impairment predicts cardiac events in heart transplant patients with preserved left ventricular function.
BACKGROUND
The impact of allograft vasculopathy on the coronary circulation and consequently on cardiac outcome may be expressed by coronary flow reserve (CFR) impairment. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate CFR and its relation to cardiac events in heart transplant patients.


METHODS
Twenty-three patients, 2 female, with left ventricular ejection fraction >45% were studied 76+/-30 months after heart transplantation. They were divided into 2 groups according to coronary angiography: Group A, 10 patients with significant coronary artery disease (stenosis> or =50%) and group B, 13 patients without significant stenosis. Twenty healthy subjects, 13 female, served as controls. Coronary flow velocity reserve (CFVR) was assessed by transesophageal echocardiography and calculated as the ratio of maximal (i.v. adenosine, 140 microg/kg/min) to baseline coronary velocities. Patients were followed for a mean of 25 months for cardiac events.


RESULTS
Compared to controls, heart transplant groups showed significantly higher baseline coronary flow velocities (51+/-27, 38+/-12 and 32+/-12 cm/s, respectively) and lower maximal coronary velocities (90+/-52, 112+/-33 and 118+/-24 cm/s), resulting in a reduced CFVR (1.9+/-1.0, 3.0+/-0.5 and 3.8+/-1.2). Multivariate analysis identified heart transplantation and epicardial coronary artery disease as the only variables independently related to CFVR. Hypertension was positively related to baseline while diabetes inversely related to maximal coronary flow velocities. A CFVR <2.3 was a marker for cardiac events (4 deaths, 1 heart failure).


CONCLUSIONS
CFVR impairment, particularly in the presence of epicardial coronary artery disease, follows heart transplantation and is associated with a worse outcome.
Rodrigues
Ana Clara T
AC
Heart Institute (InCor)-HC-FMUSP, Divisão de Diagnóstico por Imagem, Av Eneas de Carvalho Aguiar, 44 Cerqueira cesar, CEP: 05403000 São Paulo, SP, Brazil. anatude@incor.usp.br
Frimm
Clovis de C
Cde C
Bacal
Fernando
F
Andreolli
Vanessa
V
Tsutsui
Jeane M
JM
Bocchi
Edimar A
EA
Mathias
Wilson
W
Lage
Silvia G
SG
D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity; D001794:Blood Pressure; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D017023:Coronary Angiography; D003326:Coronary Circulation; D023921:Coronary Stenosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D017548:Echocardiography, Transesophageal; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate; D016027:Heart Transplantation; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015588:Observer Variation; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D013318:Stroke Volume; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D018487:Ventricular Dysfunction, Left / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000601:surgery*; D016277:Ventricular Function, Left