Survival beyond 10 years following heart transplantation: The Cleveland Clinic Foundation experience.
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.
Ozduran
V
V
Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Kaufman Center for Heart Failure, Cleveland, Ohio 44195, USA.
Yamani
M H
MH
Chuang
H-H
HH
Sipahi
I
I
Cook
D J
DJ
Sendrey
D
D
Tong
L
L
Hobbs
R
R
Rincon
G
G
Bott-Silverman
C
C
James
K
K
Taylor
D O
DO
Young
J B
JB
Navia
J
J
Banbury
M
M
Smedira
N
N
Starling
R C
RC
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