Cardiac Transplant Vasculopathy

The major factor limiting long term survival for heart transplant recipients is their tendency to develop coronary artery disease. This differs from conventional coronary disease. Native coronary disease tends to be focal and non concentric and often affects the proximal vessel. Graft coronary disease is diffuse and concentric and affects mid and distal vessels. It is an aggressive disease process and affects 32% of recipients at five years [4].