JHLT: The Podcast returns with an episode for our heart transplant colleagues, discussing the paper, "Barriers and opportunities in donation after circulatory death heart transplantation," from the February issue of JHLT.

Featured on this episode is first author, Katherine G. Phillips, MD, of the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at NYU Langone, and co-author, Brian Wayda, MD, from the Division of Cardiology at NYU Langone.

The discussion explores:

• Geographic variability on DCD heart utilization—why it happens and how to address
• Concerns around donor progression to circulatory arrest after life support withdrawal
• The volume of DCD hearts not utilized each year—and the gap between those successfully transplanted

For the latest studies from JHLT, visit www.jhltonline.org/current, or, if you're an ISHLT member, access your Journal membership at www.ishlt.org/jhlt.

Don't already get the Journal and want to read along? Join the International Society of Heart and Lung Transplantation at www.ishlt.org for a free subscription, or subscribe today at www.jhltonline.org.

In this episode of JHLT: The Podcast, the Digital Media Editors host a discussion on a new consensus statement from ISHLT on Short Telomere Syndrome (STS) and Lung Transplantation. The document was first published last month.

They're joined by document leads Andrew Courtwright, MD, PhD, of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia; Dr. John Mackintosh of Prince Charles Hospital in Brisbane; and John McDyer, MD, of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in Pittsburgh.

The conversation includes discussion of:

• Recommendations for assessing patients for STS
• Which patients we should screen
• How the diagnosis influences transplant decision making and risk assessment
• How STS impacts immunosuppression
• Extrapulmonary comorbidities
• Future areas for research

ISHLT Standards, Guidelines, and Consensus Statements are open to all at ISHLT.org.

For the latest studies from JHLT, visit www.jhltonline.org/current, or, if you're an ISHLT member, access your Journal membership at www.ishlt.org/jhlt.

Return later this month for a conversation on barriers and opportunities in utilizing DCD hearts in transplantation.

Don't already get the Journal and want to read along? Join the International Society of Heart and Lung Transplantation at www.ishlt.org for a free subscription, or subscribe today at www.jhltonline.org.

JHLT: The Podcast returns with an episode discussing the paper, "Impact of evolocumab on coronary physiology and microstructure in de-novo heart transplant recipients," from the January issue of JHLT.

Featured on this episode is early career guest host Bin Yang, MD, of Massachusetts General Hospital. Mentored by Digital Media Editor Van-Khue Ton, MD, PhD, Dr. Yang shares hosting duties this episode and brings great questions to the discussion.

Drs. Yang and Ton are joined by the first author, Salma Karim, and senior author, Hans Eiskjaer, both from Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark.

The discussion explores:

• What imaging and physical markers the researchers used to determine if evolocumab was influencing the development of cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV)
• The potential role of lipid-lowering therapies or statins in treating CAV
• The relationship between CAV and microvascular resistance (IMR)

For the latest studies from JHLT, visit www.jhltonline.org/current, or, if you're an ISHLT member, access your Journal membership at www.ishlt.org/jhlt.

In case you missed it, earlier this month the JHLT Digital Media Editors recapped their favorite papers from 2025. Take a listen!

Don't already get the Journal and want to read along? Join the International Society of Heart and Lung Transplantation at www.ishlt.org for a free subscription, or subscribe today at www.jhltonline.org.

Happy new year and welcome to a new season of JHLT: The Podcast! In this year-end recap, the Digital Media Editors will each share one of their favorite studies from The Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation in 2025. You'll get a look at some of the best science in advanced heart and lung failure from the past year.

Studies featured:

• Efficacy and safety of sotatercept across ranges of cardiac index in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension: A pooled analysis of PULSAR and STELLAR Gomberg-Maitland M, et al. JHLT Apr 2025 44(4):609 – 624.
• A consensus-based framework for the psychosocial evaluation of pediatric candidates for cardiothoracic transplant and ventricular assist devices Lefkowitz DS, et al. JHLT Apr 2025 44(4):487-502.
• ABO-incompatible heart transplants in children aged 2-9 years: A new paradigm in transplant? Hollis P, et al. JHLT Dec 2025 44(12):1910-1917.
• Heart transplantation in Ukraine during wartime: A retrospective cohort study of standard vs marginal donor heart transplantation outcomes Todurov B, et al. JHLT Nov 2025 44(11):1728-1734.

For the latest studies from JHLT, visit www.jhltonline.org/current, or, if you're an ISHLT member, access your Journal membership at www.ishlt.org/jhlt.

Don't already get the Journal and want to read along? Join the International Society of Heart and Lung Transplantation at www.ishlt.org for a free subscription, or subscribe today at www.jhltonline.org.

JHLT: The Podcast returns with an episode discussing the paper, "High Antiphospholipid Antibody Titers and Outcomes of Pulmonary Endarterectomy: A Single-Center Retrospective Observational Cohort Study," from the December issue of JHLT.

They are joined by the first author, Camille Miard, MD, and senior author, François Stéphan, MD, PhD, both from the cardiothoracic intensive care unit at Hôpital Marie Lannelongue in Paris.

The discussion explores:

• Whether antiphospholipid antibody titers could predict postoperative outcomes for CTEPH patients undergoing pulmonary endarterectomy (PEA)
• How APS patients differed from non-APS patients in the PEA cohort
• The changes in clinical practice at Marie Lannelongue after the study's findings

For the latest studies from JHLT, visit www.jhltonline.org/current, or, if you're an ISHLT member, access your Journal membership at www.ishlt.org/jhlt.

Don't already get the Journal and want to read along? Join the International Society of Heart and Lung Transplantation at www.ishlt.org for a free subscription, or subscribe today at www.jhltonline.org.

On this episode of JHLT: The Podcast, the Digital Media Editors host a discussion on the paper, "Lung transplant in patients with suspicious lung lesions: A single-center retrospective data analysis," which appears in the December issue of JHLT.

They are joined by the senior author, Stefan Schwarz, MD, PhD, of the Department of Thoracic Surgery at the Medical University of Vienna.

The discussion explores:

• Methods used to assess the probability of malignancy in the patient cohort
• The limitations of common scanning methods in assessing this type of transplant patient
• What the study confirms or changes about standards in clinical practice

For the latest studies from JHLT, visit www.jhltonline.org/current, or, if you're an ISHLT member, access your Journal membership at www.ishlt.org/jhlt.

Don't already get the Journal and want to read along? Join the International Society of Heart and Lung Transplantation at www.ishlt.org for a free subscription, or subscribe today at www.jhltonline.org.

On this episode of JHLT: The Podcast, the Digital Media Editors host a discussion on the paper, "Impact of donor specific antibodies on longitudinal lung function and baseline lung allograft dysfunction."

They are joined by the first author, Muhtadi Alnababteh, MD, Assistant Professor at the University of Maryland and Staff Clinician at the National Institutes of Health, and senior author Michael Keller, MD, of the Pulmonary and Critical Care division at the University of Maryland.

The discussion explores:

• Common characteristics of patients who developed donor-specific antibodies (DSA)
• Differences in outcomes depending on when DSA developed
• Associations between the development of DSA and antibody-mediated rejection, and related time frames

For the latest studies from JHLT, visit www.jhltonline.org/current, or, if you're an ISHLT member, access your Journal membership at www.ishlt.org/jhlt.

Don't already get the Journal and want to read along? Join the International Society of Heart and Lung Transplantation at www.ishlt.org for a free subscription, or subscribe today at www.jhltonline.org.

On this episode of JHLT: The Podcast, the Digital Media Editors invite co-lead author Nir Uriel, MD, Director of Advanced Heart Failure and Cardiac Transplantation at New York Presbyterian Hospital and Professor of Medicine at Columbia University.

Dr. Uriel joins to discuss the work of the Cardiogenic Shock Working Group (CSWG) and their recent paper, "Outcomes of patients supported on Impella 5.5 for more than 14 days: A Cardiogenic Shock Working Group registry analysis."

The discussion explores:

• Why patients on longer duration of MCS had better survival but maintained similar rates of serious adverse events (SAEs)
• Why the study might show fewer SAEs than the literature historically shows
• How temporary MCS devices are selected in clinical settings in patients with cardiogenic shock
• The ongoing and upcoming activities of CSWG

For the latest studies from JHLT, visit www.jhltonline.org/current, or, if you're an ISHLT member, access your Journal membership at www.ishlt.org/jhlt.

Don't already get the Journal and want to read along? Join the International Society of Heart and Lung Transplantation at www.ishlt.org for a free subscription, or subscribe today at www.jhltonline.org.

On this episode of JHLT: The Podcast, the Digital Media Editors invite author Dr. Ayumi Goda, from the Kyorin University Hospital in Tokyo, Japan, to discuss her team's paper, "Prevalence of occult HFpEF and age-specific efficacy of passive leg raise in pulmonary hypertension."

The discussion explores:

• How clinical observations led to the idea for a study on whether the passive leg raise could unmask occult HFpEF
• The potential diagnostic value of the passive leg raise in differing patient populations
• Age-specific cutoffs that may influence what kind of testing to use in clinical practice

For the latest studies from JHLT, visit www.jhltonline.org/current, or, if you're an ISHLT member, access your Journal membership at www.ishlt.org/jhlt.

Don't already get the Journal and want to read along? Join the International Society of Heart and Lung Transplantation at www.ishlt.org for a free subscription, or subscribe today at www.jhltonline.org.

On this episode of JHLT: The Podcast, the Digital Media Editors invite first author Ahmet Bilgili, from the University of Florida's Congenital Heart Center, and senior author Eric I. Jeng, MD, from the University of Florida's MCS program.

Bilgili and Dr. Jeng discuss their paper, "Optimal pretransplant duration with HeartMate III left ventricular assist device: A contemporary analysis."

The discussion explores:

• Prior gaps in the literature regarding contemporary HM3 outcomes in relation to transplantation—and the study's potential influence on policy
• Which length of HM3 support influenced better post-transplant outcomes—and which ages were most influenced
• How these findings might change standard practice

For the latest studies from JHLT, visit www.jhltonline.org/current, or, if you're an ISHLT member, access your Journal membership at www.ishlt.org/jhlt.

Don't already get the Journal and want to read along? Join the International Society of Heart and Lung Transplantation at www.ishlt.org for a free subscription, or subscribe today at www.jhltonline.org.