Does heart transplantation improve memory functioning in patients with severe cardiomyopathy?
Heart transplantation in patients with severe cardiomyopathy significantly improves recent memory impairments, suggesting that heart failure-induced cerebral dysfunction is reversible upon restoration of cardiac output.
Seventeen patients with severe cardiomyopathy underwent neuropsychological evaluation prior to and at least 1 year after successful heart transplantation. Study candidates were screened, and individuals with a history of stroke, cardiac arrest, or medical and neurological conditions which might affect brain function were excluded. Pre-transplant testing revealed normal intelligence and normal attentional, language, and executive abilities but impaired recent memory. Following heart transplant, memory functioning improved significantly, reaching normal levels. Other cognitive abilities remained unchanged. Results suggest that cardiomyopathy is associated with mesial temporal dysfunction, possibly attributable to inadequate or reduced cerebral blood flow and related hypometabolism. This cerebral dysfunction is potentially reversible following successful transplantation, which restores cardiac output and cerebrovascular perfusion.
Roman et al. (Wed,) studied this question.