Issues of outpatient diagnosis of acute cardiac rejection in a patient who underwent orthotopic heart transplantation

An acute cardiac transplant rejection is a reaction of the recipient’s immune system, which includes the cellular and/or humoral pathway of the immune response. This reaction is directed against the tissues of the “alien” donor organ. The alertness of clinicians regarding the possible development of an acute rejection reaction during the first year after heart transplantation is due to the extremely high risk of developing life-threatening conditions mediated by graft dysfunction. These include various cardiac arrhythmias and a progressive decrease in myocardial contractility. In case of untimely diagnosis of this serious complication, the risk of mortality of the patient who underwent orthotopic heart transplantation is extremely high. What changes in clinical, laboratory and instrumental examination parameters at the outpatient stage can help a practicing cardiologist to suspect the presence of an acute rejection reaction of a heart transplant in a patient who has undergone orthotopic heart transplantation? At present, there is no unambiguous answer to this question, and the topic of early detection and prediction of the development of an acute heart transplant rejection reaction is extremely relevant for modern scientific research and is of great practical interest in the field of transplantology and cardiology, in particular.

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