Continuous improvement in outcome after heart transplantation — Long-term follow-up after three decades of experience

Aims Heart transplantation (HTx) has become the standard treatment for patients with end-stage heart disease. We report on the long-term outcome after HTx at our centre and investigate trends in outcome over time. Methods During the period, between 1984 and 2014, a total of 610 HTx procedures were performed in 595 patients (median 48years; IQR 31–57years; range 24days-71years; mean 43years; 75% male) in our institution. Long-term outcome was investigated in the whole cohort, among children (n=76), bridged with mechanical circulatory support (MCS, n=131), re-transplanted (n=17), and concomitant kidney transplantation (n=12). Results Long-term survival was at 1, 5, 10, 15 and 20years: 86% (95CI 0.83–0.89); 77% (95CI 0.73–0.80); 63% (95CI 0.59–0.68); 48% (95CI 0.43–0.54) and 30% (95CI 0.25–0.36), respectively. The median survival for the whole cohort was 14.1years. Patients transplanted during the most recent time period (2010–2014) had a better survival compared to previous eras, with a 1- and 3-year survival of 94% (95CI 0.89–0.97) and 93% (95CI 0.88–0.96), respectively (p<0.001). However, when survival was analysed for long-term MCS (n=80) versus short term MCS (n=35), there was a significantly poorer survival for the short-term MCS group (p=0.001). Independent predictors of long-term mortality included recipient age (p=0.041); previous smoking (p=0.034); ischemic heart disease (p=0.002); and preoperative ventilator therapy (p=0.004). Conclusions We have shown that continuous improvement in outcome after HTx still occurs. In the last time era, direct transplantation from short-term MCS was abandoned, which may have inflicted outcome during the last time era.