The Influence of the Recipient's Body Weight on the Probability to Obtain a Heart Transplant-POLKARD HF Registry

Introduction. The aim of the study was to analyze the influence of body weight of the adult heart recipient on the chance to obtain a transplant. Methods. We analyzed the data from all 658 patients listed for heart transplantation. Results. During the follow-up period, 325 (49%) of listed patients underwent transplantation with 102 (15%) succumbing before heart transplantation. The mean weight of transplanted patients was 73.7 +/- 13.7 kg and 81.2 +/- 15.4 kg for those not transplanted (P < .00001). Patients were divided according to body weight in two groups: light = below 80 kg (n = 360) or heavy >= 80 kg or above (n = 297). On the transplant list, 111 heavy patients (37%) versus 213 light patients (59%) underwent the procedure, a significant difference. The waiting time among light patients was 255 versus heavy patients of 395 days (P < .005). There was a similar number of deaths before transplantation among the light (n = 56 360 patients; 15.5%) versus the heavy group (49/297; 16%). Upon multivariate Cox mode analysis independent factors related to not receiving a heart transplant were greater weight, systolic blood pressure, pulmonary vascular resistance, Heart Failure Survival Score (HFSS) score and lower N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NTproBNP) levels. Conclusions. Among adult heart transplant candidates, the chance to receive a heart transplant significantly decreased when the recipient's weight exceeded 80 kg. Patients with a body weight more than 110 kg had a poor chance to receive a heart transplantation.