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Does Left Atrial Size Predict Clinical Outcomes in Heart Transplant Recipients?
Author(s) -
Shizukuda Yukitaka,
Ahmad Saad,
Naz Tehmina,
Dunlap Stephanie,
Gujja Pradeep
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.29.1_supplement.952.7
Subject(s) - medicine , cardiology , heart transplantation , population , limiting , heart failure , mechanical engineering , environmental health , engineering
We have previously reported that larger post‐heart transplant (HT) left atrial (LA) size is associated with decreased ventilatory efficiency indicating lesser exercise capacity. Therefore, we hypothesized that larger LA size negatively influenced clinical outcomes in heart transplant (HT) recipients by limiting exercise capacity. To test this, clinical outcomes over 5 years after HT were evaluated in 35 HT recipients who had a LA size measurement with echocardiography at 1 year after HT at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. The LA size was assessed as LA volume derived from a stacked disc method. The average LA volume normalized to BSA was 38.3±9.9 ml/m 2 (mean±SD) at 1 year after HT. Two deaths and one drop‐out occurred during 5‐year follow up. A total of 552 cardiac symptom‐related hospitalizations occurred in the recipients. The average time to first hospitalization was 166±279 days and average number of hospitalizations of each recipient was 15±16. The indexed LA volume failed to correlate with the time to first hospitalization and number of hospitalizations of each recipient (Spearman's p‐value; 0.141 and 0.519 respectively). In summary, our results implicate that LA size is not a significant predictor of cardiac symptom‐related hospitalizations in HT recipients. Therefore, despite its association with exercise capacity, LA size may not predict clinical outcomes in this population.