title: Statin-associated QTc interval shortening as prognostic indicator in heart transplant recipients.
abstract: Statin treatment promotes survival after cardiac transplantation by reducing cholesterol levels, allograft rejection, and transplant coronary artery disease. Analysis of data from 114 heart transplant recipients (including 86 treated with statins for < or =1 year post-transplantation) revealed that statins were associated with shortened corrected QT intervals (QTc), reduced low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and reduced transplant coronary artery disease incidence at 1 year and improved survival at 5 years. Statin-associated QTc shortening thus appears to be a favorable prognostic sign after transplantation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiac Transplantation, Texas Heart Institute at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital, Houston, Texas 77225-0345, USA.
authors.forename: Bojan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Vrtovec
authors.forename: Ivan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Stojanovic
authors.forename: Rajko
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Radovancevic
authors.forename: Aria P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Yazdanbakhsh
authors.forename: Cynthia D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.forename: Branislav
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Radovancevic
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL / Q000097:blood; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000517:prevention & control; D004562:Electrocardiography / Q000187:drug effects*; D005260:Female; D006321:Heart / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D016027:Heart Transplantation / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015996:Survival Rate
chemical_list: D008078:Cholesterol, LDL; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors