Intra-Aortic Balloon Counterpulsation as a Bridge to Heart Transplantation does not Impair Long-Term Survival

AIMS: There are few studies of the use of intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) treatment as a bridge to heart transplantation (HTx). This is the first study to compare long-term clinical and haemodynamic outcomes in IABP-treated HTx patients and electively transplanted patients. METHODS AND RESULTS: This was a retrospective study of all adult HTx recipients between 2001 and 2007. Thirty-two patients (aged 50 +/- 13 years) treated with IABP, as a bridge to HTx due to severe hypo-perfusion, were compared with 135 electively transplanted patients (aged 54 +/- 11 years). The mean time from onset of IABP to HTx was 21 +/- 16 days. Clinical condition improved during IABP treatment. Serum creatinine decreased from 128 +/- 56 to 102 +/- 29 micromol/L (P < 0.01), aspartate transaminase from 682 +/- 1299 to 63 +/- 89 U/L (P = 0.01), and ALAT from 483 +/- 867 to 126 +/- 284 U/L (P = 0.02). Intra-aortic balloon pump treatment related complications were few. Mortality was similar in the IABP and control groups at 30 days post-HTx (6.2 vs.3.7%, P = 0.54), at 1 year (9.4 vs.11.1%, P = 0.80), and beyond. Long-term clinical and haemodynamic indices were similar in the two groups. CONCLUSION: Intra-aortic balloon pump treatment stabilizes patients in end-stage heart failure, is safe, well tolerated, and is successful in bridging acutely decompensated patients to transplantation. Complications are few and manageable. Following IABP and HTx, short- and long-term survival, biochemical and invasive and non-invasive haemodynamic outcomes were similar to those in electively transplanted patients.