Biblioteca Virtual en Salud

PURPOSE--To evaluate patient selection for heart transplantation or dynamic cardiomyoplasty. METHODS--We evaluated 380 patients from April 1991 to July 1993. The ages ranged between 16 and 68 (mean 43.5 +/- 11.46) years, 303 (79.7 per cent) were male. The diagnoses were dilated cardiomyopathy in 163 (42.9 per cent), Chagas' cardiomyopathy in 70 (18.4 per cent), ischemic heart disease in 61 (16.1 per cent), hypertensive heart disease in 40 (10.5 per cent), valvular heart disease in 23 (6.1 per cent), alcoholic cardiomyopathy in 12(3.2 per cent), peripartum cardiomyopathy in 5 (1.3 per cent) and myocarditis of unknown etiology in 5 (1.3 per cent). RESULTS--The indication of heart transplantation was eventually done in 55 (14.4 per cent), and 19 (5 per cent) were submitted to transplantation. Dynamic cardiomyoplasty was indicated in 9 (2.3 per cent) patients and was performed in 8 (2.1 per cent). In 30 (7.8 per cent) patients there were clinical contraindications for transplantation. Conventional surgical treatment was indicated for 12 (3.1 per cent) patients myocardial revascularization and/or ventricular aneurismectomy in 5, surgical treatment of valvular heart disease in 6 and of atrial fibrillation in 1. Socioeconomic limitations precluded transplantation in 43 (11.3 per cent) and psychic limitations hindered transplantation in 23 (6.0 per cent) patients. Refusal of procedure by the patient occurred in 10 (2.6 per cent) cases. Improvement of the symptoms occurred in 69 (18.1 per cent) patients. CONCLUSION--A small percentage of patients are eligible and are eventually submitted to heart transplantation or dynamic cardiomyoplasty. New strategies may be delineated during follow up, as deferring transplantation or conventional surgical treatment of ischemic or valvular heart disease. Sociopsychic evaluation is an important step in the care of the patients