Modified pig-to-human heart transplant had unexpected changes in heart’s conduction system
Published in General News.
Electrocardiogram (ECG) measures taken after the first pig-to-human heart transplant found significantly different electrical conduction characteristics compared to those seen in native pig hearts (pig heart transplanted in a pig).
Common ECG measures are typically shorter in a pig than in a human, yet, in the Jan. 2022 pig-to-human heart transplant, these ECG measures were unexpectedly prolonged.
DALLAS, Oct. 31, 2022 — Heart rhythm measures in the electrocardiograms of the first pig-to-human heart transplant found unexpected differences in the electrical conduction system of the genetically modified pig heart compared to an unmodified pig heart, according to preliminary research to be presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2022. The meeting, held in person in Chicago and virtually, Nov. 5-7, 2022, is a premier global exchange of the latest scientific advancements, research and evidence-based clinical practice updates in cardiovascular science.
Xenotransplantation — the process of implanting an organ from one animal species to another — took a leap forward in January 2022, when a 57-year-old man with terminal heart disease received the first-ever transplant of a genetically modified pig heart. The patient lived for 61 days.