Author/Editor		Vrtovec, Bojan; Radovancevic, Rajko; Thomas, Cynthia D; Yazdanbakhsh, Aria P; Smart, Frank W; Radovancevic, Branislav
Title		Prognostic value of the QTc interval after cardiac transplantation
Type		članek
Source		J Heart Lung Transplant
Vol. and No.		Letnik 25, št. 1
Publication year		2006
Volume		str. 29-35
Language		eng
Abstract		Background: Although QTc interval prolongation is considered a risk factor for adverse outcome in the non-transplant population, its predictive value in heart transplant recipients has not been studied yet. This study was conducted to determine whether prolonged QTc interval is a useful predictor of outcome in heart transplant recipients. Methods: QTc intervals were measured in 587 adult patients who underwent heart transplantation between May 1982 and January 2002. QT interval duration was determined by averaging 3 consecutive beats in all 12 leads of the standard electrocardiogram (ECG) and corrected with the Bazett formula. Baseline ECGs were obtained within 7 days after transplantation; follow-up ECGs were recorded annually at the time of routine angiography. Patients were followed over 85 ± 65 months (range, 3 months-17 years). Results: During follow-up, 241 patients died. The mean QTc interval duration in these patients was comparable with that in the remaining cohort (432 ± 26 msec vs 423 ± 25 msec, p = 0.07). However, patients with a relative increase in QTc duration of >- 10% between the first and second post-transplantation year (deltaQTc >- 10%) had a 6.86-times higher risk of dying compared with patients with deltaQTc < 10% (p = 0.0005). Furthermore, deltaQTc >- 10% was the only independent predictor of long-term rnortality on multivariate analysis (p = 0.0008). Conclusions: A relative increase in QTc interval duration of >- 10% between the first and second posttransplantation year is a strong, independent predictor of mortality in heart transplant recipients.
Descriptors		HEART TRANSPLANTATION ELECTROCARDIOGRAPHY CORONARY DISEASE MYOCARDIAL CONTRACTION GRAFT REJECTION DEATH, SUDDEN, CARDIAC SURVIVAL ANALYSIS FOLLOW-UP STUDIES