HIGH PREVALENCE OF THROMBOEMBOLIC COMPLICATIONS IN HEART-TRANSPLANT RECIPIENTS - WHICH PREVENTIVE STRATEGY

Consecutive patients transplanted between January 1984 and December 19 88 were followed until August 1992 to detect fatal and nonfatal thromb oembolic complications, including sudden death, acute and chronic myoc ardial infarction, pulmonary and peripheral embolisms, stroke, and thr ombophlebitis. The probability of developing such complications was 9. 86 per 100 patients per year, The probability of fatal complications w as 3.97% per year; the mean interval between transplant and death was 1247 days versus 29.5 days for nonthromboembolic deaths, Thromboemboli c deaths represented 5.1% of total mortality at the first year posttra nplant but 57, 30, 67 and 73% at the second, third, fourth, and fifth years, respectively. Among the prognosis factors that were analyzed, n one was significant predictor of thromboembolic complication. This hig h prevalence of thromboembolic complications suggests that effective a ntithrombotic strategy should be defined in heart transplant recipient s.