Prevention and rehabilitation after heart transplantation: A clinical consensus statement of the European Association of Preventive Cardiology, Heart Failure Association of the ESC, and the European Cardio Thoracic Transplant Association, a section of ESOT
Maria Simonenko, Dominique Hansen, Josef Niebauer, Maurizio Volterrani, Stamatis Adamopoulos, Cristiano Amarelli, Marco Ambrosetti, Stefan D. Anker, Antoni Bayés‐Genís, Tuvia Ben Gal, T. Scott Bowen, Francesco Cacciatore, Giuseppe Caminiti, Elena Cavarretta, Ovidiu Chioncel, Andrew J.S. Coats, Alain Cohen‐Solal, Flavio D’Ascenzi, Carmen de Pablo Zarzosa, Andreas B. Gevaert, Finn Gustafsson, Hareld Kemps, Loreena Hill, Tiny Jaarsma, Ewa A. Jankowska, Emer Joyce, Nicolle Kränkel, Mitja Lainščak, Lars H. Lund, Brenda Moura, Kari Nytrøen, Elena Osto, Massimo Piepoli, Luciano Potena, Amina Rakisheva, Giuseppe Rosano, Gianluigi Savarese, Petar Seferović, David R. Thompson, Thomas Thum, Emeline M. Van Craenenbroeck
Abstract
Little is known either about either physical activity patterns, or other lifestyle-related prevention measures in heart transplantation (HTx) recipients. The history of HTx started more than 50 years ago but there are still no guidelines or position papers highlighting the features of prevention and rehabilitation after HTx. The aims of this scientific statement are (i) to explain the importance of prevention and rehabilitation after HTx, and (ii) to promote the factors (modifiable/non-modifiable) that should be addressed after HTx to improve patients' physical capacity, quality of life and survival. All HTx team members have their role to play in the care of these patients and multidisciplinary prevention and rehabilitation programmes designed for transplant recipients. HTx recipients are clearly not healthy disease-free subjects yet they also significantly differ from heart failure patients or those who are supported with mechanical circulatory support. Therefore, prevention and rehabilitation after HTx both need to be specifically tailored to this patient population and be multidisciplinary in nature. Prevention and rehabilitation programmes should be initiated early after HTx and continued during the entire post-transplant journey. This clinical consensus.