Heart Transplants for People with Diabetes
Heart disease is the leading cause of death among people with diabetes and they’re also at a two-times greater risk of developing heart failure. Does this mean diabetic patients should be denied heart transplants if they need one?
A recent study has shown that people with uncomplicated diabetes do just as well after a heart transplant as those who do not have diabetes. It’s those who have diabetes-related complications, such as stroke, kidney failure, peripheral vascular disease, and severe obesity, who have a lower survival rate.
- Transplant recipients with uncomplicated diabetes had a median survival of 9.3 years, which was not significantly different from recipients without diabetes who had a median survival of 10.1 years.
- The median survival of diabetic recipients with one complicating condition was 6.7 years
- The median survival was almost half that (3.6 years) when diabetes was combined with two or more complications.
- The risk of post-transplant complications increased significantly with increasing severity of diabetes.
For diabetic patients who are not eligible for heart transplants, they can opt to get left ventricular assist devices, small electrical pumps placed in the heart, or ask to be placed on “alternative” wait lists for high-risk heart transplant candidates.
EurekAlert!, November 6, 2006
Technorati Tags: diabetes, heart transplant, heart, heart disease, cardiovascular disease, diseases, illness, health
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