title: OPTN/SRTR 2012 Annual Data Report: heart.
abstract: The number of heart transplants performed annually continues to increase gradually, and the number of adult candidates on the waiting list increased by 25% from 2004 to 2012. The heart transplant rate among active adult candidates peaked at 149 per 100 wait-list years in 2007 and has been declining since; in 2012, the rate was 93 heart transplants per 100 active wait-list years. Increased waiting times do not appear to be correlated with an overall increase in wait-list mortality. Since 2007, the proportion of patients on life support before transplant increased from 48.6% to 62.7% in 2012. Medical urgency categories have become less distinct, with most patients listed in higher urgency categories. Approximately 500 pediatric candidates are added to the waiting list each year; the number of transplants performed each year increased from 274 in 1998 to 372 in 2012. Graft survival in pediatric recipients continues to improve; 5-year graft survival for transplants performed in 2007 was 78.5%. Medicare paid for some or all of the care for nearly 40% of heart transplant recipients in 2010. Heart transplant appears to be more expensive than ventricular assist devices for managing end-stage heart failure, but is more effective and likely more cost-effective.
authors.affiliation: Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients, Minneapolis Medical Research Foundation, Minneapolis, MN; Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Colvin-Adams
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Smithy
authors.forename: B M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Heubner
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Skeans
authors.forename: L B
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Edwards
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Waller
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Schnitzler
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Snyder
authors.forename: A K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Israni
authors.forename: B L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Kasiske
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001243:Assisted Circulation; D009202:Cardiomyopathies / Q000601:surgery; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D006085:Graft Survival; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery; D016027:Heart Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000191:economics / Q000401:mortality; D006353:Heart-Assist Devices; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D010359:Patient Readmission / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012086:Reoperation; D014019:Tissue Donors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014850:Waiting Lists / Q000401:mortality
keywords: End-stage heart failure; heart transplant; transplant outcomes; ventricular assist device