Peak oxygen uptake and self-reported physical health are strong predictors of long-term survival after heart transplantation.

Background: Peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak ) is known as the gold standard measure of cardiopulmonary fitness. We therefore hypothesized that measures of physical health would predict long-term survival in heart transplant recipients (HTx).

Methods: This retrospective study investigated survival in two HTx populations; the cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET) cohort comprised 178 HTx patients who completed a VO2peak test during their annual follow-up (1990-2003), and the SF-36 cohort comprised 133 patients who completed a quality of life questionnaire, SF-36v1 (1998-2000).

Pulmonary hypertension in heart transplantation: discrepant prognostic impact of pre-operative compared with 1-year post-operative right heart hemodynamics.

Background: The prognostic impact of pulmonary hypertension (PH) before and after heart transplantation (HTx) is debated. We investigated: (i) the significance of pre-operative reversible PH on post-operative survival; (ii) the value of recatheterization while on the waiting list; (iii) the evolution of right heart hemodynamics (RHH) after HTx; and (iv) the prognostic impact of PH at 1 year after HTx.

Methods: We reviewed the records of 500 HTx recipients transplanted between 1983 and 2007.

[Self-assessed health and psychological symptoms after heart transplantation].

Background: The purpose of this study was to assess quality of life (QoL, self-reported health) and psychological adjustment in a sample of heart transplanted patients.

Material And Methods: The sample comprised 147 (117 men) Norwegian heart transplanted patients (operated 1983 - 1999). Data on QoL and psychological adjustment were collected during annual routine follow-up controls between 1998 and 2000.

Depressive symptoms and all-cause mortality after heart transplantation.

Background: Several studies indicate that heart transplantation (HTx) is associated with depression and reduced quality of life. However, the impact of depression on the prognosis for HTx-patients has not yet been sufficiently established. The aim of the present study was to prospectively investigate the influence of depression on mortality in patients with HTx, adjusting for other known risk factors.