title: OPTN/SRTR 2013 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 34.2% from 2003 to 2013. The heart transplant rate among active adult candidates peaked at 149.0 per 100 waitlist years in 2007 and has been declining since then; in 2013, the rate was 87.4 heart transplants per 100 active waitlist years. Increased waiting times do not appear to be correlated with an overall increase in waitlist mortality. Since 2008, the proportion of patients on life support before transplant increased from 53.4% to 65.8% in 2013. 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 pediatric transplants performed each year increased from 293 in 2003 to 411 in 2013. Patient survival among pediatric recipients continues to improve; 5-year patient survival for transplants performed from 2001 through 2008 was 70% to 80%. Medicare paid for some or all of the care for 42.2% of all heart transplant recipients in 2012.
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: Smith
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 D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Waller
authors.forename: E R
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Callahan
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; D000847:Annual Reports as Topic; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006085:Graft Survival; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000601:surgery*; D016027:Heart Transplantation / Q000401:mortality / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010359:Patient Readmission; D040841:Resource Allocation; D015996:Survival Rate; D014019:Tissue Donors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014481:United States; D014850:Waiting Lists; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: End-stage heart failure; heart transplant; transplant outcomes; ventricular assist device