JHLT Open · Published 2026-06-18 · DOI 10.1016/j.jhlto.2026.100612
Roscoe Lim, Lebei Pi, Abigal McDonald, Harun Abdullah, Victor Leal Alcantara, Yasbanoo Moayedi, Juan Duero Posada, Ana Carolina Alba, Michael McDonald, Filio Billia, Natasha Aleksova
This retrospective observational study aimed to determine whether echocardiographic markers of restrictive physiology can identify early cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV). There were 136 heart transplant (HT) recipients evaluated between January 2018 and December 2023. The echocardiographic parameters assessed were E/A ratio, isovolumetric relaxation time (IVRT), deceleration time (DT), E/e’, and tissue Doppler indices. The primary outcome was angiographic CAV (ISHLT grade ≥1) at 1 year, which was observed in 15% of recipients. Only DT <150 ms was significantly associated with CAV (OR 2.73, 95% CI 1.03–7.21). A multivariable model incorporating age, sex, and DT <150 ms demonstrated good discrimination for CAV (AUC 0.78). These findings suggest that DT may be a non-invasive marker of early CAV and merit further studies to determine long-term risk prediction.
Abstract from DOAJ. Public domain (CC0 1.0).
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Lim, R., Pi, L., McDonald, A., et al. (2026). Evaluation of restrictive left ventricular physiology on echocardiography in heart transplant recipients and early angiographic cardiac allograft vasculopathy. JHLT Open. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhlto.2026.100612