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New AI System Assists in Detecting Heart Transplant Reactions

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Developed by researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a new artificial intelligence system can help enhance heart transplant procedures by reducing the risk of immune system rejections.

To help improve heart transplants, investigators from Brigham and Women’s Hospital created an artificial intelligence (AI) system known as the Cardiac Rejection Assessment Neural Estimator (CRANE), which can help clinicians detect and manage adverse immune system reactions.

Although heart transplants can be lifesaving, there is a risk of the immune system rejecting and attacking the new organ that may go unnoticed by the patient, leading to severe medical problems.
Read more from Health IT Analytics.

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Cardiometabolic multimorbidities increase mortality risk in Black adults

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Black adults in the United States with multiple cardiometabolic morbidities are at increased risk for both all-cause and CHD mortality, according to a study.

“Given the known higher rates of mortality from CHD, stroke and diabetes among Black populations compared with white populations, it is paramount to examine the association of a combination of these cardiometabolic conditions with mortality among Black populations,” Joshua J. Joseph, MD, MPH, FAHA, assistant professor of medicine in the division of endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, and colleagues wrote. Read the full story in Healio.

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Social Determinants of Health, Race Impact Outcomes in Pediatric Heart Transplants

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Social determinants of health independently impact post-heart transplant outcomes among Black children.

Social determinants of health (SDOH) independently impact post-heart transplant outcomes among Black children, but not White children, according to the results of a study presented at the American Heart Association (AHA) Scientific Sessions 2022, held from November 5th through 7th, in Chicago, Illinois. Read more from Infectious Disease Advisor.

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Three-year monitoring report available for changes to adult heart allocation

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A new data report contains key measures of adult heart allocation based on policy changes implemented in October 2018.

The report notes several important trends since implementation, including:

  • Policy changes were successful in creating medical urgency statuses that prioritize candidates according to their risk of death while waiting for a transplant.

    Read the full article from UNOS.
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Study demonstrates unexpected electrical changes in first successful transplant of genetically-modified pig heart

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Ten months after transplanting the first genetically-modified pig heart into a human patient, University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) researchers continue to report on new findings from the landmark transplant. Their latest study demonstrates for the first time that unexpected electrical changes occurred in the pig heart transplanted into the patient David Bennett. The findings were presented at the American Heart Association (AHA) meeting this past weekend. Read more in News Medical Life Sciences.

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Greater rise in CVD risk factors seen for women during menopause vs. same-age men

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Levels of cholesterol, triglycerides and other serum components that indicate CVD risk increased for women in Japan who underwent menopause in the past 15 years, according to longitudinal data published in Menopause.

“Cross-sectional studies have shown that cardiovascular risk factors such as blood pressure, serum total cholesterol, [and] high-density lipoprotein cholesterol … before menopause age differed from those after menopause age, and concordantly, cohort studies have reported that women who experienced early menopause, a short reproductive period or bilateral ovariectomy had higher overall mortality and increased risk and mortality from cardiovascular disease,” Saki Teramura, MSc, of the department of public health medicine at the University of Tsukuba in Japan, and colleagues wrote.  Read more in Healio.

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Moderate, severe asthma increases risk for ischemic heart disease

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Patients with asthma had a greater risk for ischemic heart disease compared with those without asthma, according to a speaker at the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Annual Scientific Meeting.

Further, having moderate or severe persistent asthma significantly increased this risk, according to researchers. Read the full story in Healio.

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How I Pivoted to a New Career After My Heart-lung Transplant

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Changing career paths has brought columnist Anna Jeter both grief and joy

Four weeks before I entered my freshman year of college, I was being evaluated for a heart-lung transplant due to pulmonary hypertension (PH). Little did I know that I would spend the next four years managing these very separate journeys alongside each other.

During this time, I think I did a good job of compartmentalizing events in my mind — perhaps too good a job. On one train of thought, I was preparing for a career in nursing and pursuing my degree to secure this future. In a completely different realm, I was beginning my transplant journey. Read the full article in Pulmonary Hypertension News here.

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No elevated mortality risk with heart transplants donated after circulatory death

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Patients with heart transplants involving donation after circulatory death have no detectable difference in survival compared with those with hearts donated after brain death, according to a study published in Circulation: Heart Failure.

Using data from the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) registry, the researchers identified adult heart transplant recipients from January 2019 to September 2021 and used propensity-score matching to compare 1-year mortality between patients with hearts donated after circulatory death and those with hearts donated after brain death. Read more in Healio.

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What are the Common Lab Tests That Patients Receive After Heart Transplant?

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As a heart transplant recipient, you’ll quickly find yourself being asked to take a laundry list of blood tests. While this can be inconvenient and frustrating, it’s also really important. Your doctor can’t tell what’s going on with your new heart by looking at you. Blood tests provide information on how well your heart is functioning and how your medications may be affecting your body. By reviewing the results, your physician may adjust medications, recommend changes to your diet or fluid intake, or recognize the need for additional examination. Read the full story on CareDx.com.

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