Heart failure & cardiomyopathies

Genetic Testing After Heart Transplantation Uncovers Heritable Disease and Drives Family Screening

JACC AdvPublished nationwide, multicenter retrospective study

Authors' conclusion

GT remains clinically actionable after HTx, enabling etiologic reclassification and driving cascade screening. These findings support systematic GT in HTx recipients with CM, including those with prior environmental triggers or second-hit etiologies, and regardless of time from transplantation.

Study context

Population
Adult HTx recipients transplanted for cardiomyopathy (CM) across 12 Spanish centers (2010–2023)
Participants
657 HTx recipients
Outcome
Pathogenic/likely pathogenic variant identified
Methodological details12 Spanish centers, genetic testing (GT) results centrally adjudicated using American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics criteria
  • 12 Spanish centers
  • GT results centrally adjudicated using American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics criteria

Main finding

As reported in the abstract

Pathogenic/likely pathogenic variant

53%

351/657

Observational data: associations, not effects.

Further findings

Etiologic reclassification after GT

Etiologic reclassification, all
35% (231/657)
Etiologic reclassification when GT performed post-HTx
42% (106/253)

Family cascade screening

Family screening performed, of families
69% (224/328)
Affected relatives identified, genotype-negative cases
22% (19/90)
Affected relatives identified, genotype-positive cases
42% (49/107)

Genetic etiology in CM initially attributed to acquired or "second-hit" causes

Genetic etiology identified, of CM initially attributed to acquired or "second-hit" causes
36% (15/42)

Genetic architecture in dilated cardiomyopathy vs ambulatory cohorts

Lower TTN variant prevalence and enrichment of arrhythmogenic genes in transplanted patients

Original publication

Genetic Testing After Heart Transplantation Uncovers Heritable Disease and Drives Family Screening. JACC Adv. Published 31 July 2026. doi:10.1016/j.jacadv.2026.103043

Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →

Get them every week

New studies on this topic in My Week and in your Monday e-mail.

We e-mail you a sign-in link and a code. No password, no spam.