Pulse Wave Velocity in Pediatric Heart Transplant Recipients-A Marker of Vascular Health.

Elevated arterial stiffness is associated with an increased risk of comorbidities such as stroke, heart attack, and kidney disease. Pediatric heart transplant patients are known to have arterial hypertension and elevated aortic stiffness. Limited data on pulse wave velocity (PWV), a surrogate for arterial stiffness, is available in pediatric patients. We performed an observational, prospective study assessing arterial stiffness, utilizing PWV, in pediatric heart transplant recipients. Hemodynamic tracings were obtained via pigtail catheter pullback from ascending to descending aorta during surveillance cardiac catheterization. We found that PWV was abnormal ≥4m/s in patients early and late post-heart transplantation. Cholesterol levels were negatively correlated with PWV. A serial longitudinal assessment of PWV is required to further correlate abnormal PWV with clinical complications.