title: Survival beyond 10 years following heart transplantation: The Cleveland Clinic Foundation experience.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Long-term survival after heart transplantation is a desirable although challenging goal.
  
  
  METHODS
  We analyzed clinical outcomes in the cohort of 170 patients who have undergone heart transplantation at The Cleveland Clinic Foundation and survived >10 years.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found 10-year and 15-year survival rates of 54% and 41%, respectively, in these patients, but there was also a high incidence of complications, such as hypertension, renal dysfunction, transplant vasculopathy, and malignancy.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Long-term survival following cardiac transplantation is possible although complications are frequent. Beyond 10 years, malignancy is a major cause of death.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Kaufman Center for Heart Failure, Cleveland, Ohio 44195, USA.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Ozduran
authors.forename: M H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Yamani
authors.forename: H-H
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Chuang
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Sipahi
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Cook
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sendrey
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tong
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hobbs
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rincon
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bott-Silverman
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: James
authors.forename: D O
authors.initials: DO
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.forename: J B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Young
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Navia
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Banbury
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Smedira
authors.forename: R C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Starling
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006084:Graft Rejection / Q000453:epidemiology; D016027:Heart Transplantation / Q000276:immunology / Q000401:mortality / Q000502:physiology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007165:Immunosuppression Therapy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016019:Survival Analysis; D017741:Survivors / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013997:Time Factors; D014019:Tissue Donors / Q000706:statistics & numerical data