Heart Transplantation News and Research

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A heart transplant is an operation in which the diseased heart in a person is replaced with a healthy heart from a deceased donor. Ninety percent of heart transplants are performed on patients with end-stage heart failure.

Heart failure is a condition in which the heart is damaged or weakened and can't pump enough blood to meet the body's needs. "End-stage" means the condition has become so severe that all treatments, other than heart transplant, have failed.

Effectiveness of mRNA BNT162b2 COVID-19 vaccine in immunocompromised individuals

Israeli researchers evaluate the antibody response in ICPs to assess antibody-mediated immunity following vaccination with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

26 Oct 2021

Radiation therapy for ventricular tachycardia may revert heart muscle cells to a younger state

Radiation therapy for ventricular tachycardia — a life-threatening irregular heart rhythm — appears to work by reverting heart muscle cells to a younger state, reducing the irregular rhythms, according to a new study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

24 Sep 2021

Duke surgeons perform first 'donation after circulatory death' pediatric heart transplant

Surgeons at Duke University Hospital successfully performed a "donation after circulatory death" (DCD) heart transplant in a pediatric patient, demonstrating the potential expansion of eligible donor hearts for children with heart failure.

9 Sep 2021

New artificial heart can adjust the changing needs of patients treated for end-stage heart failure

An experimental artificial heart includes an autoregulation control mechanism, or Auto-Mode, that can adjust to the changing needs of patients treated for end-stage heart failure.

21 Jun 2021

Novel computer system can help inform future therapies for patients with inherited heart disease

An integrated, genomic computer system for precision cardiology has been created using clinical data that can help inform medical and surgical decisions to support future therapies for patients with inherited heart disease.

14 Jun 2021

FDA alerts health care providers to no longer implant heart failure patients with Medtronic's HVAD System

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is alerting health care providers to no longer implant end-stage heart failure patients with Medtronic's Heartware Ventricular Assist Device (HVAD) System due to a growing body of observational clinical comparisons that demonstrates a higher frequency of neurological adverse events and mortality associated with the system when compared to other commercially available devices, as well as complaints that the internal pump may delay or fail to restart.

3 Jun 2021

Study shows that heart transplantation using donation after cardiac death with NRP is feasible in the U.S.

A new study, presented today at the AATS 101st Annual Meeting, found that heart transplantation using donation after cardiac death (DCD) with normothermic regional perfusion (NRP) is feasible in the United States.

3 May 2021

Cell-free DNA tests can reduce the need for biopsies to detect rejection after heart transplant

A new study, presented today at the AATS 101st Annual Meeting, shows that non-invasive cell-free DNA tests can reduce the need for regular surveillance biopsies to detect early rejection in heart transplant patients. The study was the first of its kind to be performed on both adult and pediatric patients.

30 Apr 2021

Blood type-incompatible pediatric heart transplant shown to be as effective as the traditional approach

A pediatric heart transplant procedure pioneered by Canadian doctors--once deemed impossible--has been shown to be at least as effective as the traditional approach, according to newly published research in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health.

25 Mar 2021

Young, Black patients at higher risk of death in the first year after a heart transplant

Young, Black adults are more than twice as likely to die in the first year after a heart transplant when compared to same-age, non-Black heart transplant recipients, according to new research published today in Circulation: Heart Failure, an American Heart Association journal.

2 Feb 2021

iTHRIV announces recipients of health research pilot projects

The Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) hub partnership between Virginia Tech, the University of Virginia, Carilion Clinic, and Inova Health System has awarded $200,000 in funding to five research projects through the Pilot Translational and Clinical Studies Program. Multi-institutional teams of scientists, physicians, and engineers will study Parkinson's disease, celiac disease, pediatric heart transplant, pediatric telemedicine, and epilepsy.

15 Jan 2021

Heart transplantations: Larger case volumes correlate with higher survival probabilities

In a series of commissions awarded by the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA) to the Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care, the question is whether for certain surgical procedures, a correlation can be shown between the volume of services provided per hospital and the quality of treatment results.

28 Dec 2020

Potential treatment could reduce heart failure after a significant heart attack

While there are therapies to aid in overall heart health, there are very few preventative therapies for heart failure after a significant heart attack, a serious condition that has a very significant mortality.

24 Nov 2020

MRI exams can be safely performed in patients with non-MR compatible cardiac devices

MRI examinations can be performed safely in patients with non-MR compatible cardiac devices, including those who are pacemaker-dependent or have abandoned leads, according to a study published in Radiology: Cardiothoracic Imaging.

22 Oct 2020

Study: Mechanical pumps given to more patients following new heart transplant allocation policy

For the past two years, a different national allocation policy has been in effect in order to more fairly distribute hearts to those who require a life-saving transplant. People who need temporary mechanical pumps to support their hearts, like ECMO or a temporary LVAD, are now given high preference.

21 Oct 2020

Transplantation of pig hearts may solve chronic shortage of donor organs

The goal of harvesting hearts from pigs to solve the chronic shortage of these donor organs appears to be in reach, according to a new scientific review by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH).

9 Oct 2020

Researchers receive $3.2 million to use AI for improving heart transplant outcomes

A team of researchers in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland Clinic, and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, were recently awarded a $3.2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to enhance research for improving heart transplant outcomes for patients.

5 Oct 2020