LONG-TERM FOLLOW-UP OF HEART-TRANSPLANT PATIENTS

The present study was designated to assess long term functional capaci ty, blood pressure and renal function at 12 and 60 months after heart transplantation. The data of sixty heart transplant recipients were re trospectively reviewed. At rest, radionuclide ejection fraction and ca rdiac index measured by thermodilution were within normal range, demon strating normal left systolic function. In all patients, exercise test s were performed sitting on a bicycle. Peak oxygen uptake decreased fr om 23 +/- 6 to 19 +/- 6 ml/kg/min (mean +/- S.D.) respectively at 12 a nd 60 months after surgery (p<0.01), which represent a 17% diminution in functional capacity. This decrease is nevertheless only related wit h a 10 kg increase in total body weight (69 +/- 9; 79 +/- 12 kg; p<0.0 01) and thus absolute peak oxygen uptake remained unchanged. Blood pre ssure rised significantly since the first month after transplantation. Sixty-seven percent of recipients had systemic hypertension at 60 mon ths, despite medical therapy. A decline in renal function was observed in all patients, beginning after the first year of transplantation.