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Background: Higher health literacy is associated with lower risk of hospitalization and mortality in patients with heart failure (HF). Health literacy assessment is recommended in patients undergoing heart transplant evaluation, yet few data report health literacy status or its associations with post-heart transplant outcomes.

Objective: To characterize health literacy among heart transplant recipients and investigate its associations with post-transplant hospital readmissions and mortality.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 513 patients (median age 57 years, 28% female, 27% Black) who underwent heart transplantation at Vanderbilt University Medical Center between 2015-2021. Health literacy was assessed using the validated 3-item Brief Health Literacy Screen (BHLS). Each item is on a 5-point Likert scale yielding a total score range of 3-15, with 15 indicating optimal health literacy. All cause readmissions post …