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Donated Heart Valves Still Growing a Year After World’s 1st Partial Heart Transplant

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— Child and transplanted tissue together remain in good condition per case report

By Nicole Lou

The newborn that received the world’s first partial heart transplant in 2022 continued to do well a year later, according to a case report from the transplant team.

Born with type A2 persistent truncus arteriosus and irreparable truncal valve dysfunction, Owen Monroe received living tissue implants containing the aortic and pulmonary valves — tissue that is expected to grow alongside the child. Read the article in MedPage Today.

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5 trends in cardiology to watch

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Known as “the father of modern cardiology,” Harvard Medical School professor Dr. Eugene Braunwald shares his perspective on promising future directions in the field.

By Julie Corliss, Executive Editor, Harvard Heart Letter

Longtime readers of the Heart Letter know that most of our stories focus on steps you can take right now to improve your heart health. But once in a while, we look ahead at what’s on the horizon in this dynamic field. We consulted Dr. Eugene Braunwald, Distinguished Hersey Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, where he has worked since 1972. At age 94, he continues to work and publish, adding to the more than 1,100 articles he has authored since the early 1950s. His pioneering research helped elucidate how heart attacks happen, which ushered in new ways to treat and prevent them. Read the article from Harvard Health Publishing.

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A change of heart — literally — moved this couple to renew their wedding vows

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One couple celebrates love and life on anniversary of husband’s successful heart transplant

By Sarah Blackmore

Bonita and Dex Pelley stand in Bridie Molloy’s, a lively pub in downtown St. John’s, wearing a wedding dress and a suit. These are the same outfits they wore 24 years ago, the first time they said, “I do.”

Now they’re doing it all again, but this time, with a change of heart.  Read the article in CBC News.

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Rude Awakening on Trying to Keep Donor Hearts Usable With Common Hormone Infusions

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— Long-standing practice of levothyroxine supplementation fails in randomized trial

By Nicole Lou

Giving unstable brain-dead heart donors intravenous levothyroxine did not lead to more hearts being transplanted, a randomized trial showed.

In hemodynamically unstable potential donors, administering the thyroid hormone supplement after brain death did not significantly improve donor heart utilization compared with saline placebo, with transplantation rates of 54.9% and 53.2%, respectively (adjusted risk ratio 1.01, 95% CI 0.97-1.07), reported Rajat Dhar, MD, of Washington University School of Medicine and Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, and colleagues. Read the article in MedPage Today.

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