Abstract

The efficacy of heart transplantation for end-stage cardiac disease is generally accepted. Patient survival rates after 1, 5 and 10 years are about 90%, 80% and 50%, respectively [1] but its long-term success is limited by chronic rejection. Chronic rejection results in graft coronary artery occlusive disease which in turns leads to ischemia and organ destruction. In human heart transplants it is characterised by a process of accelerated coronary artery disease, also called graft vascular disease (GVD). This type of rejection is represented by concentric intimal thickening of the entire length of the coronary vessels.

Keywords: graft vascular disease, Heart Transplantation, Cytokines