Prevalence, Prognosis and Predictors of Neurological Complications after Heart Transplantation

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Purpose Heart transplantation (HT) is the gold-standard treatment for end-stage heart failure. In spite of its innumerous benefits, it still involves complications. Among them, neurological complications significantly impact patient's morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence, prognosis and predictors of neurological events after HT. Methods Between January 2007-December 2017, data from all patients who underwent orthotopic HT in this single center were collected and analyzed considering seizures, ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke as neurological complications. Univariate and multivariate analysis were performed to determine significant predictors; ROC curves were generated to establish blood pressure cutoffs that influence the presence of neurological events. Mortality between groups was evaluated through Kaplan Meier curves and Log Rank test. Results We assessed 132 patients from 15-76 years of age (mean 51.8), 73.5% men, mainly in INTERMACS profile 3 (78.8%). Etiologies included Chagas disease (26.7%), ischemic cardiomyopathy (26.7%), idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (24.4%) and other (22.2%). Neurological events before transplant occurred in 16.7%. The prevalence of neurological complications after HT was 17.4% (8.7% ischemic stroke, 60.9% hemorrhagic stroke, 30.4% seizures), and occurred mainly in the first 10 postoperative days (71.4%). In the multivariate analysis, the difference between systolic blood pressure (SBP) before HT and on the 3rd postoperative day was an independent predictor of neurological events (p-value 0.018; 95% CI of 1.007-1.080 OR 1.043). A cut off value of SBP gradient>31,9mmHg (64.3% sensitivity,63% specificity;AUROC 0.652) significantly increased the risk of neurological complications (p=0.006, 95%CI 1.576-14.692 OR 4.811). Presence of neurological events was related to a longer hospital stay (38.6 days for patients with events, 29.1 days for patients without, p=0.019). However, up to the first-year post-transplant, neurological complications did not impact mortality risk (p=0.191). Conclusion In this single center study, prevalence of neurological complications was high, however without impact on mortality. Systolic blood pressure elevation in the 3rd postoperative day in comparison to the pre transplant period was a significant predictor of neurological complications.