Preoperative Statin Therapy and Heart Transplantation Outcomes

Primary graft dysfunction (PGD) is a leading cause of early morbidity and mortality after heart transplantation (HT). Statins are known to have immunomodulatory and antiinflammatory effects, and perioperative statin therapy has been associated with reduced cardiovascular complications and improved outcomes after cardiac and noncardiac surgery. Thus, we investigated the influence on PGD of statin therapy administered to recipients before HT.

A retrospective cohort study was conducted on 275 HT recipients assessed from 1997 to 2017; 167 (61%) had received statins during the month prior to and at time of transplantation, whereas 108 (39%) had not. Endpoints included PGD (defined according to the International Society of Heart and Lung Transplantation consensus statement), in-hospital mortality, and 1-year and 5-year survival.

PGD incidence was significantly lower for statin-treated patients (21 vs 60%, P < .001). Multivariable analysis demonstrated that pre-HT statin therapy was independently associated with a significant 65% reduced risk for PGD and a 73% reduced risk for in-hospital mortality. One- and five-year mortality, adjusted for age, sex, and amiodarone therapy, were significantly lower for recipients treated with statins (hazard ratio 0.33 and 0.39, 95% confidence interval 0.17-0.63 and 0.22-0.68, respectively; P = .001).

Pre-HT statin therapy was independently associated with a reduced risk for PGD and mortality. Our results also suggested that statins have a beneficial prognostic impact on heart failure patients awaiting HT.