Background: Peripheral endothelial dysfunction (ED) has been found in patients with severe heart failure. Whether ED improves after heart transplantation (HTx) is still a matter of controversy.
Methods: Forearm endothelium-dependent vasoreactivity was assessed in 40 patients after HTx. Flow-mediated vasodilatation (FMD) was measured by high-resolution brachial artery ultrasound to assess endothelial function at 1, 6, and 12 months after HTx. Cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV) was assessed by coronary angiography at 1 and 12 months and by intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) at 1 year.
Results: Mean FMD at 1 month was 1.9% +/- 2.6%, improving to 3.3% +/- 3.2% at 6 months (p < 0.005) and to 5.1% +/- 3.4% at 1 year (p < 0.0001). FMD was significantly impaired in 33 patients (82%) at 1 month, in 27 (67%) at 6 months, and in 19 (47%) at 1 year after HTx. CAV was diagnosed by IVUS in 19 patients (63%) at 1 year. Patients without peripheral ED at 1 month had lower incidence of increased intimal thickness of 0.5 mm or more at 1 year after HTx (20% vs 75%, p < 0.01).
Conclusions: Impairment of peripheral FMD was highly prevalent soon after HTx and was present in nearly 50% of patients at 1 year. Patients without peripheral ED at 1 month were associated with lower probability of CAV. Although more studies are needed, the evaluation of peripheral endothelial function at 1 month after HTx could be potentially useful to identify patients at lower risk of CAV.