Regadenoson is a safe and well-tolerated pharmacological stress agent for myocardial perfusion imaging in post-heart transplant patients

Abstract

Background: The safety and tolerability of regadenoson (REG), a newer adenosine A 2a receptor agonist, has not been tested in orthotopic heart transplant (OHT) patients. Methods: Retrospective review of a tertiary care center experience of OHT patients who underwent a REG single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) study as part of the work-up for cardiac allograft vasculopathy. The control group included those same patients who had prior adenosine-based SPECT. Results: A total of 40 patients met the above criteria. Mean time from OHT to adenosine-SPECT and REG-SPECT was 8.2 ± 4.8 years vs 9.8 ± 4.5 years, respectively (P < .001). Both vasodilators had similar side effect profiles (P = .10), produced significant heart rate acceleration and asymptomatic hypotension (P