Orthotopic heart transplantation to treat 7 patients with endstage dilated cardiomyopathy

Objective To explore the important factors that enhance the survival rate of the patients undergoing heart transplantation. Methods From Aug. 1995 to Set.1998, 7 patients with endstage dilated cardiomyopathy underwent standard orthotopic heart transplantation.Results Six patients survived with good quality of life and came back for their work. Their heart function is grade 0 to I (by NYHA). Abnormal signs were not found in these patients by ECG, echocardiography and endocardium-myocardial biopsy. The remaining one case survived for only 7 days after operation. Conclusion Accurate selection for recipient, suitable surgical procedure, excellent myocardial preservation, early prevention and treatment of the graft function failure are important factors for improvement of the survival rate of patients undergoing heart transplantation. Key words: Heart/transplantation; Cardiomyopathy,dilated