Abstract WP212: Racial Disparities in Perioperative Stroke and Mortality Following Stroke in Adult Cardiac Transplant Recipients

Introduction: In the general US population, Black adults have a higher stroke incidence and mortality rate after stroke compared to white adults. Among heart transplant recipients, Black adults also have a higher mortality rate beginning 6-12 months post-transplant. Whether there are racial disparities in perioperative stroke incidence and all-cause mortality following perioperative stroke among cardiac transplant recipients is unknown. Methods: Using the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients, we examined all adults in the United States who received their first heart transplant between January 2008 - December 2018. We used multivariable conditional logistic regression to assess the association between race and perioperative stroke. We used multivariable Cox proportional hazard regression to examine the association between race and mortality among adults who survived a perioperative stroke. In both models, we included age, sex, hospitalization status, prior ventricular assist device (VAD) implantation, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), calendar year, etiology of heart disease, bilirubin, and functional status as covariates. Results: Among 20,912 adults, 428 (2.7%) white recipients and 126 (2.4%) Black recipients had a perioperative stroke. In a multivariable model, there was 11% lower odds of perioperative stroke in Black recipients compared to white recipients (OR = 0.89, 95% CI: 0.71, 1.12). Among perioperative stroke survivors, mortality rates were similar between Black and white recipients within 6 months (HR = 1.02, 95% CI: 0.70, 1.49) and in long-term follow up (HR = 0.95, 95% CI: 0.52, 1.73). However, our regression results were imprecise. Further adjustment for health behaviors and socioeconomic position did not alter the results. Conclusion: Black recipients experienced a lower incidence of perioperative stroke; however, mortality rates were similar between Black and white recipients following perioperative stroke. These unexpected findings warrant further research.