Stroke on Mechanical Support: Similar Survival but Higher Risk of Stroke Post-Transplant

Purpose Ventricular assist devices (VADs) increase waitlist survival, yet the risk of stroke is not trivial. There is a knowledge gap regarding the impact of these strokes on heart transplant outcomes. We sought to analyze how strokes during VAD support impact post-transplant (post-Tx) outcomes in children. Methods 520 pediatric ( Results Overall, there were 146 (28%) VAD patients with a pre-Tx stroke; 86 (59% of stroke patients) of them were transplanted at a median of 57 [17-102] days from stroke, significantly lower than the no stroke cohort (90%; p Conclusion Patients with stroke on VAD once transplanted, enjoy similar survival compared to no stroke patients. Allowing children who suffer stroke while on VAD support to have more time to recover appears to improve post-Tx outcomes.