High Frequency of Arterial Hypertension in Patients After Liver Transplantation

Cardiovascular diseases are among the most frequent causes of patient death after liver transplantation. The aim of this retrospective clinical study was to estimate the prevalence of arterial hypertension among patients after successful liver transplantation and the role of immunosuppressive drugs in the pathogenesis of hypertension in these patients.

A total of 88 patients (age 47 .5 ±  12.1 years; 33 women and 55 men) who had undergone successful liver transplantation and completed 24 months follow-up were studied. The results are presented as means with standard deviations.

At 1, 12, and 24 months after liver transplantation, the prevalences of hypertension were 44.3%, 54.5%, and 62.5%, respectively. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure in these months were 124.1 ± 14.8, 132.8 ± 19.1, and 135.2 ± 17.3 mm Hg and 83.3 ± 12.0, 87.3 ± 11.1, and 87.9 ± 11.1 mm Hg, respectively. The estimated glomerular filtration rates were 77.8 ± 32.3, 80.3 ± 30.8, and 78.8 ± 29.1 mL/min/1.73 m(2), respectively. Arterial hypertension was significantly more frequent in patients treated with cyclosporine A than in those treated with tacrolimus (P = .004) or everolimus (P = .005). In patients treated with tacrolimus, a positive correlation was found between tacrolimus blood concentration and systolic blood pressure (R = 0.34; P = .01) and a negative correlation was found between estimated glomerular filtration rate and systolic blood pressure (R = -0.28; P = .02).

Based on study findings, the following conclusions were drawn: arterial hypertension occurs in more than 50% of patients after liver transplantation (significantly higher frequency than in the general population); calcineurin inhibitors may participate in the pathogenesis of arterial hypertension in patients after successful liver transplantation; and the clinical importance of these findings and the influence on cardiovascular outcome of the liver transplant recipients need further investigation.