Heart Transplant Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Heart Transplant, including details on risks, prognosis, procedure, surgery, organ donation.

Successful transplantation of an older donor heart with documented myocardial bridging: a case report.

Singhal AK, McClurken JB, Fisher CA, Macha M, Mohara J, Furukawa S

Temple University Hospital and School of Medicine, Cardiac and Thoracic Surgery, Philadelphia, PA 19140, USA.

Myocardial bridging, the overlying of myocardial tissue onto epicardial coronary arteries, is an anatomic variant that is widely present in the general population. This condition can be associated with reduced forward coronary flow. Once these hearts are identified in potential donors by either visual inspection or coronary catheterization, they may no longer be considered suitable for transplantation. We present a case study that successfully utilized such a heart explanted from an older donor with "bench" myotomy repair before implantation.

Published 1 March 2005 in J Heart Lung Transplant, 24(3): 340-2.
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