Gender in post-cardiac transplant patients has no effect on the occurrence of death, major cardiovascular events or development of cardiac allograft vasculopathy.

OBJECTIVES

The effect of gender on outcome in post-cardiac transplant morbidity and mortality including the occurrence of transplant vasculopathy is not well established. The goal of this study was to evaluate adverse post-transplant outcomes based on gender with a focus on cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV).

METHODS

Using our post-transplant database at the University of Arizona, the effect of gender after heart transplantation on death, major adverse cardiac events (MACE defined as the combined occurrence of myocardial infarction, percutaneous coronary intervention, coronary bypass surgery, re-transplantation, and death) and the occurrence of CAV was evaluated retrospectively over 3 years.

RESULTS

A total of 149 patients were evaluated in our database. Over the study period after the first year post-transplantation, a total of 4,7% deaths occurred. There were no differences in death between males and females (4.3% vs 6.1%, p = ns). MACE occurred in similar degrees between males and females (7.8% vs 9.1%, p = ns). Furthermore, the occurrence of an abnormal coronary angiogram or significant intima thickening seen during intracoronary ultrasound studies was similar between the genders for every year studied.

CONCLUSIONS

Gender does not effect on the occurrence of CAV at any year's post-cardiac transplantation. Furthermore, it has no effect on MACE and mortality.